By Robert A. Vella
This morning, another deadly shooting took its toll at a school in the U.S. From NBC News:
A shooter opened fire at a suburban Portland, Oregon, high school Tuesday morning, killing one student, authorities said. The gunman is also dead.
Police say the situation at Reynolds High School in Troutdale was “stabilized” an hour after initial calls came in at 8:07 a.m. local time as the school day was beginning.
The increasing frequency of this senseless gun violence is becoming so acute that it is raising alarm in community after community across the nation. Law enforcement has been working feverishly with school officials to prepare them on how to respond to these kinds of tragic incidents. Parents are wondering if it is even safe anymore to send their children to school. Everyone is getting deeply concerned.
Yet, the country is largely ignoring what’s causing these mass shootings:
- America in the 21st century has become a culturally polarized and hyper-competitive society with little opportunity for success among the general populace. The day-to-day stresses are overcoming people’s ability to cope. A variety of mental health issues are clearly the result Some are reacting violently.
- Easily obtained firearms are now ubiquitous in the U.S. thanks to an aggressive gun culture proliferated by an extremist conservative movement led by the National Rifle Association, Tea Party Republicans, and right-wing media organizations such as Fox News.
If America truly wants to solve this crisis, it must do two things:
- Reduce the stress. People must have a reasonable chance for a fulfilling life. They need affordable education that values them as individual human beings, and not just as insignificant servants to the corporate state. They need rewarding occupations which allow their creativity to flourish. But most of all, they need assurances from their leaders that the institutions of power – politics, business, and religion – are redressing the widespread problem of corruption and will begin to start acting in the public’s best interest.
- Reduce the availability of guns. Common sense gun control measures will help keep unstable people from committing mass murder, while not violating any citizen’s legitimate constitutional rights under the 2nd amendment.
The Secular Jurist 
Horrible to press like on a post like this. All I can really say is OH NO!
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Wish it was an “appreciate” button instead of a “like” button.
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Ostrich politics seems to be the norm in the US, that’s highly unfortunate.
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It’s ingrained into the American psyche. Self-reflection is not allowed.
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You know, the ancient adagium was: “Know yourself.”
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Sun Tzu Ch. 3
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I agree with your solutions. Give everyone a chance to earn a decent living and you will reduce stress and associated crimes
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Thanks, Mak. It’s just common sense from my perspective.
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I have come to the conclusion that common sense is not as common as people want to think
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That’s true, sadly.
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I absolutely agree that we have to address the underlying reasons for gun violence. Do you know if there are any stats or studies that show that gun violence has increased due to social conditions? I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a correlation, although I think the main reasons for gun violence is that our culture glorifies guns, especially on TV and in movies. And, as you said, the NRA, Fox, et al., glorifies guns as well, ignoring the suffering they cause.
It’s also important to note that the US have one of the highest crime rates in the world. There are many theories as to why, but I don’t hear anyone other than sociologists discussing them. We as a society need to start tackiling these issues in order to solve this. I have a book called “Classics of Criminology” from a criminology class that discusses the theories. Many of the theories make good points, which suggests to me that the solution to crime and gun violence will likely be found in a multi-faceted approach.
The easy availability of legal and illegal firearms must also be addressed through tougher regulations, perhaps even an outlaw of guns altogether.
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Great comment. I don’t know if gun violence in America is increasing or not, but does it really matter? We already know the U.S. has the highest rate of gun violence in the developed world. That fact should be sufficient justification for corrective political action.
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