Over the past number of weeks there has been much written about violence in our society. Whether that be at schools or on our streets in America.
Tonight I viewed the PBS program "Nova" where the title referred to "The Mind of a Rampage Killer." It is a well thought out program which strives to show what clues to look for in young people today which might point to those who may be inclined to physically hurt people or themselves.
We have all heard the most infamous of those in the media. Columbine, Virgina Tech and Sandy Hook schools come to mind. But what came as a surprise during this PBS program was not that those tragic examples occurred but rather that hundreds of others were prevented. The media never covers those to the extent of the most disturbing.
So, as the program progressed the question is asked why on earth would anyone do such things. It was suggested that these mentally ill people were in a long term state of depression and many wanted to die. It was also suggested that they did not wake up one day and decided to kill people. Rather, they were in situations where they felt very much out of control of their lives. That they wanted to gain back that control while performing acts of murder hoping they themselves would be killed. Suicide by law enforcement. It was shown there were many signs leading up to these attacks. But alas, it is much easier to obtain guns and bullets than obtaining mental health help.
I suggest what we are seeing is a reflection of our own society. A society which believes money is more important than anything else. That what gets reported as news helps re-enforce what is negative about ourselves. That young people feel trapped and unable to trust anyone to get help. That apparently we do not get to see the good news that is happening in preventing these occurrences but rather only hear about the worst of the worst.
No wonder our children are depressed, not to mention adults. I speculate that until we speak out loudly about what is right about our country, instead of constantly focusing on what is wrong about it, we are doomed to continue our current path. We have much more in common and we should emphasize that with ourselves and our children.
No matter what side of the debate you are on, you have to agree that if you are not given all the facts you can not arrive at a good decision on anything. Our collective decision on the use of guns, the amount of violence in our country, the amount of violence in video games, the amount of violence on television as a whole is having a profound effect on our children not to mention real violence on our streets. It certainly feels reasonable that kids may not feel safe anymore in school because of all the negative reporting. We have become slaves to the media. We react to what they decide is important to report because we don't have information to contradict their reporting. What if, as I discovered tonight, that hundreds of schools across this country prevented mass murders only because teachers and principles became more engaged with the kids. They have made a real effort to get to know the kids they teach. Wouldn't we all then feel safer knowing that progress is being made?
I realize there will be comments which will morph the intent of this Blog into either a conservative or liberal political statement. They would be doing everyone a disservice because what is really at stake is the basic health of our country. How safe do our children feel when they go to school. As the program pointed out those who feel out of control of their lives could be on a path of destruction, which could bring many innocent people down with them.
These are terribly difficult times. We live in an era where we all find out, at the speed of light, what happens anywhere on our planet. That for many is difficult enough but until we return to some true basics of family, community and a positive sense of ourselves we will find it impossible to assess, much less solve many of our current basic problems.
We live in a technology rich existence. The most profound communications system ever devised, the Internet, has all the tools we need. We just need to learn how to communicate positively instead of focusing on what is negative about ourselves. I pray we do.
He has ultimate control, even though he doesn't really own anything. Contrast that with the shooters. You suggest they have no control. Yet, most come from comfortable middle class families. So money can't be the issue. Some of us do spread the good news that anyone can become as great as they want to be, given enough time, talent, heart and discipline. But we are shot down at every turn by liberals who believe good fortune is bad because you were lucky, along with somehow ripping off or otherwise taking advantage of others. This is the prevailing view of capitalism. So what is left? Trusting government can improve your life? That is a prescription for disaster, yet government continues to grow. Why should good news be heard if a gun prevents 3,600 rapes a day? http://frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/guns-prevent-3600-rapes-a-day/ Because it doesn't fit the media template. Sorry to make this political, but swimming upstream is tough when liberal controlled media rules.
You say we live in difficult times. When has it been otherwise?
I'll bet the Golden Rule is no longer taught or posted on any plaques anymore in America's pooh-litically correct public schools yet years ago after Jesus was kicked out of public schools it was by far the last form of higher moral social engineering left. [Side note observation: Don't expect kids to not notice violence when their teachers are represented by Progressive unions that will engage in violent sabotage.] If kids and society don't want Jesus in their lives then at least have the courage to teach the Golden Rule once again. Teach it, over teach it and drill into peoples heads like a personal mantra. If someone finds the Golden Rule to be offensive you can be sure they're not playing with a full deck and have an alterior nefarious motive.
I have tried to suggest several times that we put the major news stories in perspective and not act rashly out of emotion, without success. Ironically, you suggest that you began to think only when another TV show told you to do so. Rather than try to win a shouting match with ratings-driven media, putting simple everyday niceties up against attention-grabbing sensationalism, you might want to try encouraging people to think for themselves. Try exercising your brain by taking something you are told and questioning it, doubting it, separating fact from interpretation, forming a logical argument against someone's interpretation. Critical thinking is arming your brain to defend itself against attempts to control it. It's far more desirable to teach everyone to defend themselves than it is to spend all of your time and effort trying to protect them yourself. Think of how many ways this applies to life.
http://images.iverifytherecall.com/images/sw/sw026917.png
Personally, that list was created by conservatives. But I feel it also is a list of those who felt strongly that they should vote their conscience. And in our system of governing, no one should ever be made to feel guilty just because they voted. I certainly do not feel guilty. The difference between you Steve and me is I would never have used this list against you for the way you voted. You of course hid behind your anonymous name to share this online. Thanks for making my case for me. Please continue to comment Steve ®. I want this on the record.
Elections and petitions have consequences and what Steve does is perfectly legal. Maybe you would be approving of the website if the GAB had done its job and came up with it on their own. Regardless, they are open public records. Grow some balls.
It appears that you have fallen victim to the very thing you are attempting to protect us from. You say that the media (among other things) has focused our attention on negative things, resulting in our time becoming worse than in the past in the context of mass shootings. However, mass shootings have been on the decline for quite some time, and we are near a historical low. You wouldn't think this was the case, given all the negative media attention. The truth is, many times the number of children will die because mothers rolled over their babies while sleeping with them, failed to secure them in proper seats while driving in the car, or left their child unattended in the bathtub while they went to answer the phone. You have focused on the very thing the media selected for you to fixate upon, and missed the forest by focusing upon a tree. As for some of the solutions you focused upon, you were pretty much spot-on. But families aren't valued the way they used to be, nor is the role they played emphasized in the same way. So good luck with that. (Sorry for the sarcasm.)
Zing!
Can you prove that Steve is not his real name? Which Rees Roberts are you? There are probably people that do not think that you have provided enough information to completely identify you. Stating that Steve has impunity implies that he should be subject to punishment or retribution for his post. Based on the limited information you provided, to use your screen name, is there not a chance that the wrong Rees Roberts could be punished due to your posts? With the proof you have provided, your screen name is as anonymous as the next. If I tell you that my last name is Bachman, then I call you out for being a whiny nark, will that make it all O.K.? Please get over it, if you don't want to post on Patch go away. It's as simple as that.
So, is it that families aren't valued the way they used to or is it that too much is now expected and results falter? Where moms used to instilled values full time, they now instead bring home needed cash. Where moms made clothes and the daily menu of food, they now do not have that quality time with their children that ultimately made a huge difference on how kids grew up. These are examples of difficult times I spoke about.
You are an example of what is wrong with "the system". This is not a public place. I am posting on private servers using private equipment on privately contracted Internet service in a privately owned building. You come forth with propaganda and your record is public. Why do you want to hide from it? Link your signature on every propaganda blog you type in the forefront, be proud of it. Own it. Your recall signature was not a "vote". It was a public declaration of taxpayer theft. Please continue to type propaganda Rees, I want this on record.
Clearly,with the amount of guns in the country and actual violent crime going down over the years overall in the USA these stories being sensationalized tend to sway the perception from the reality. The major component to the most common violent crimes are gangs , drugs and domestic violence of ones own family. These are the areas that are hardest to contain. The complete breakdown of the family has had far reaching effects. The society is more dysfunctional than ever and that sad trend is on the rise as Government tends to reward unwanted behaviors.
The Public Unions fought for years for more and more from various governments. The People finally had enough and elected responsible leadership in the all three branches of state government. The Public Unions attempted to stifle the People through intimidation, stalling tactics, court action, and recalls. The People voted and told the Public Unions "we will not let you throw a hissy fit and get your way". For years, the Socialist Left has been arguing about "the will of the people", and when they finally expressed it, the Left attempted to subvert it. Maybe the Socialist Left doesn't know "the will of the people" as much as they think they do!!!
Yes, that's the part of your blog that I agreed with. In fact, you scored even better in your reply to me. Both parents investing in their kids to the best of their ability is the standard we should shoot for. I have slightly different views on what we call mental illness, but I do think you were correct about control issues. I just don't have the time and motivation to write about it at the moment.
If your really, really want to make a change, we need to get people back to work, make them responsible for their actions, and hold them fully accountable when they break the law. In other words, it's time to say good-bye to the notion that self-esteem is the most important thing in this world, and make everyone responsible for their own lives!!!