I am writing on December 3, 2015. Yesterday there was another mass shooting in the United States. A husband and wife team open fire and shot/hit more than 30 people and killed 14. The motive for this killing is unclear. It is known that the couple had gained access to a number of high powered assault weapons leading many to speculate that either this shooting or a shooting had been planned.
On the surface, this young couple had everything to live for including a young child they left with a relative before going to the center armed and apparently ready to do what they thought they had to do.
This is the 355th mass shooting in the United States this year. Many have naturally had an emotional reaction. It is not surprising that everyone says that they deplore the violence. Many of those same people seem to have an opinion about what can be done to stop or at least reduce such mass killings. Some of the opinions are predictable and include:
· More control over the selling and ownership of guns.
· More control over both the selling and ownership of assault weapons (California already bars buying assault weapons but allows those private citizens who already own them to keep them).
· End laws banning or restricting people from owning guns and protecting themselves.
· More effective tracking of people who are treated for mental illness.
· Keep all refugees out of the country.
· Keep all Muslims or those profiled as potential terrorist suspects out of the country.
I am convinced that all of these opinions are sincerely felt and well intentioned. It seems axiomatic that the motives of the individuals expressing opinions may be vague or multi-faceted. Often we humans are unable to accurately and honestly identify our own motives much less the motives of others. This, of course, does not stop us from strongly expressing our truth and proclaiming that truth needs to be the basis of future decisions such as which president we in the United States should elect in 2016
It is tempting to assume or to assign opinions based upon a person’s job, political affiliation, religious connections, or prior history. Yet, I suspect that this is a much too simplistic approach. For example consider the following:
“Too many to list here who don’t realize that gun free zones fail to create a safe space, instead creating killing zones. Innumerable ignorant to the fact that gun control doesn’t eliminate guns; it eliminates the ability for innocent people to defend themselves. Droves of obtuse Americans so caught up in their reality TV shows and selfies on Instagram that they don’t even realize that these same refugees are not only already here in our country awaiting distribution, but our own President is working to flood the nation with even more.”
(Bearingarms.com)
Although I could not find the quote on any of the news sites which I goggled, I heard the opinion of a minister who was counseling the survivors of the mass shooting on December 2, 2015. I heard him speaks on an NPR newscast. He felt very strongly that what is needed is the freedom to own and use guns against those who are perceived to present a clear and present danger. This person is a minister of the Southern Baptist Church which is a church which considers itself a denomination of the church which claims it has a direct conduit to God - Jesus of Nazareth. As we know this Jesus descends from the Jewish faith and culture.
I could clearly research and include many more quotes of those who have expressed a truth which they, the speaker, thinks we need to attend to if we are to reduce the violence in this country. I assume the readers of this blog can certainly do this as well as I can and will, undoubtedly, have already listened to or read many of these opinions.
My background in engineering, math, and basic logic tells me that before we propose an answer to a problem we must identify the root cause of the problem. All too often we humans seem to confuse the symptoms with the core problem.
What, then, could be the core problems or issues which lead to the mass shootings and other violence in this country? Some possibilities include:
· There are a great many unhappy people. In this country alone 70 plus percent of the population are unhappy with their jobs.
· There are a number of people who sincerely believe that the God of their understanding wants them to kill the people who engage in behavior which they, the faithful, believe is very displeasing to this God.
· There is a paucity of effective resources to treat the mentally ill. Many of the mentally ill in the United States end up on jail.
· The United States is not selective enough in who they allow to enter this country on a Visa, a green card, or as a vetted refugee.
· The God of the understanding of some people is really angry and punishing we in the United States for our sinful behavior.
· Many in the United States sincerely believe that when someone does not behave in a way which is consistent with a certain version of what is considered moral that that offending person needs to be punished. Punishment can range from being shot to being sent to prison where they will be treated as less then and learn new levels of emotional or physical violence. We practice this philosophy in both our foreign and domestic policies.
· The profit motive is primary in this economy. Despite very expensively produced advertisements, the profit motive dominates the health care industry, the production and distribution of food industry, and the military industry. Much of the rest of our culture, including many religious groups, seem to have succumbed to the lure of profit.
· The economic distance between individual and groups of people in this country continues to grow and our ability to access and share that information also continues to grow.
· Some compare the current economic culture with the robber baron culture of the past. With the possible exception of Mark Zuckerman and his wife, whose participation in the larger economic culture was indirect (advertisement of for profit corporation which made some people rich at the expense of the average work and the average customer), those such as Bill and Melinda Gates (as well as many of their employees) got rich by charging a lot of money for their product thus limiting accessibility and then becoming philanthropists and, thus, the good people. They are the new Rockefellers, Kauffman’s, and Fords. These robber barons or the boards of the organizations they create get to decide who is worthy or what issues are worthy of their help. Some to the work that they fund contributes as much as did those who funded Carnegie libraries and the symphonies, which were funded by philanthropists
· we are a nation who has a war on drugs while promoting addiction under other names as the laudable goal to be achieved if one is willing to work hard enough. The fact that the addiction is to power, money, sexual desire, food, in addition to alcohol or other drugs does not change the fact that the goal of the addictive behavior is to both avoid the fear of the solitude which is the basis of our human existence (I am talking about the sort of solitude which Rainer Maria Rilke describes, especially in “Letters to a Young Poet”) and the fear that it is not enough to be us (our worth needs proving). Ironically these are the very same factors, which often lead to the creation and choices of radical extremists.
I am suggesting that the fear of the other and the corresponding need for guns to protect ourselves creates the conditions for our own fear and the fear which creates the extremist (whether the extremist is dropping bombs on hospitals or martyring oneself as a suicide bomber).
I suspect that it takes a great deal of courage – the type of courage we see in those who fully work a 12-step recovery program – to quit running to so that we can face the discomfort of the life we have created. It is interesting that in this period of history in which we seem destined to destroy each other more completely than at any time in the past there is a huge group of people who are pursuing a more spiritual path. The juxtaposition of these two groups presents a fascinating tension although the tension comes from those continuing to promote and pursue their particular addiction. Those pursuing a spiritual path have no need to change others. They merely open their hearts and extend an invitation. It is interesting to as someone whose background includes the tradition or framework of Christianity that, as we approach the date Christians have set aside to honor the birth of Jesus, that this is exactly the approach to which he invited people. He did not encourage the disciples to try to take over the duties of Caesar or to run for city council. In the New Testament he is reported as having said, “Then Jesus said to them, "Give back to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's. And they were amazed at him.” Obviously, if given to a positive change agent, I want to be able to allow myself to do that. On the other hand, I do not want to mistreat others because they are mistreating me because they thought I mistreated them because…
It seems to me that the more that I try to force others to change the more distance that I put between them and me. The more distance we put, the easier it is to mistreat each other. It is a never-ending cycle of running from myself and blaming other people, places, or things. It seems as if I keep coming back to having my get my own house in order and having the courage to behave in a way which honors the basic goodness and sacredness of all of us. When the people in South Carolina who lost relatives and friends in the shooting in the church instantly forgave the shooter that was a more powerful action than all of the assault weapons in the world. That was just another version of giving to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. If someone is being violent, I can refuse to engage in that sort of behavior. His or her violent behavior has nothing to do with me any more than my hurtful behavior to someone else causes him or her to be violent. I have to own my own behavior and with love, invite others to own their behavior. While it may seem “natural” to respond to violence with violence it is not a necessary response. We humans have the ability to make other choices.
Written December 3, 2015
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