There are no easy solutions
Once again the heart of America is screaming in pain, resulting from the grievous school shooting in Florida. We are all diminished by the heartbreaking loss suffered by those involved.
Ours is a shared sorrow.
How, is but one question raised by the tragedy. How can such be prevented? There is no single simple solution.
Gun control advocates don’t wait for the smell of gunpowder to get out of the air before they start demanding new laws. No law could have prevented this crime. Limiting the types of guns available to the public might help, but it has been people with guns who have ended every such crime.
In Anchorage we went to a large festival with local friends.
When we got out of the car, I called the attention of our hostess to the fact she left her purse on the front seat of the car. She said it would be OK. I asked why she was so certain. She said because almost everybody “pack heat” (carries a gun) and no would be thief would dare try to steal it. That is reverse gun control, meaning, the presence of guns controlling crime.
I am for gun control, but not the kind most often suggested. I am for controlling how guns are portrayed in our entertainment media. Violence is one of our subjects of entertainment. Some persons differentiate imagination from reality. Programs need to be made in which conflicts are resolved by logic and love, not death and destruction.
A second concern is always legitimately noted is mental health. It is a justifiable concern, not just for violent crimes, but for many lesser concerns. This has been and will continue to be a growing challenge. The person suffering mental problems is to be shown compassion. Their families are often extremely concerned and puzzled. Restraining a person who has not violated a law without their consent is not permitted.
There are many such persons with various degrees of mental illness.
Few focus on the primary cause. It is not the only cause, but it is the principle cause and can be addressed.
It is a cultural issue. We have become a culture of conflict and cruelty. In our social media, TV, movies, video games, and other forms of entertain- ment, conflict, often violent conflict, is depicted as the only way to resolve contention. In the form of a phone most youth carry in their pocket a mini-theater giving them instant access to programs depicting violence as the way to resolve problems.
We are such a large and varied society it will be difficult to do, but a pro-active effort is needed to counter such aggression. Don’t laugh, the formula was stated long ago: “love one another.”
Parents love your children, but don’t stop there, teach them to love one another as they love themselves. To some this sounds elemental, but “DO UNTO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD HAVE THEM DO UNTO YOU” needs to be infused into the mind of every person. There is a reason that expression has for ages been called “the Golden Rule.”
Bottom line. The morals of our nation need to be addressed. Out of the heart comes evil imaginations. We have a heart problem and no law can heal it.
Until morals becomes a major concern, no law can resolve the issue.
The Rev. Nelson Price is pastor-emeritus of Roswell Street Baptist Church in Marietta and a former chairman of the Shorter University Board of Trustees.