Fundraising poster for the American Committee for Relief in the Near East – the United States contributed a significant amount of aid to help Armenians during the Armenian Genocide. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When I read and listen to all the discussion on Gun Control I still come to the same conclusions. Guns are tools. Laws are ineffective against law breakers. Mainstream media offers mass carnage, and encourages disrespect and racism for consumption. Society fails to recognize the value of stable marriage and parents involved in their children’s lives. Evil exists. We don’t have all the answers.

There are legitimate purposes for guns, even semi-automatic weapons. National security, homeland security, home security, self-defense, sporting and entertainment are legitimate uses. Yes, guns are as fun to shoot to some as painting flowers on canvas or playing dress up at renaissance fair is to others.

So, what if people obeyed the law? Murders would not happen and guns would not be an issue. That was just too easy.

There are laws against murder. Legislation “controls” various drugs. Prohibitions exist on alcohol use by age and activity. And, there is immigration law. Tax codes, environmental acts and safety regulations exist in many forms. We have statute which limits the speed on the freeways, highways and roadways. Yet, there are those who continue to do as they please leaving victims of their intentional and unintentional mayhem. We need specialist lawyers and attorneys just to keep track of the nuance and understanding of the plethora of decrees.

The worldview and perspective of the populace is subject to influence by mainstream media. There is much literature and academic research available on this topic. While not everyone agrees if it is good or bad most agree to the persuasive power of well scripted and crafted messages and visuals. Media provides many opportunities to observe meaningless mass mutilation of humans. It is and interesting enigma as many of entertainments elitist choose to indiscriminately slay the gun industry/owner as some sort of beast. Disrespect of others can be found in more formats than I can count but we find the sit-com, the night show, the talk show, the comic routine, and music replete with impudence. And race, which supposedly doesn’t matter, is unnecessarily a descriptor when identifying the human subjects of discussion be a criminal, an athlete, a performer, or an award winner.

Just look at commercial advertising. Open your eyes to the similarities of current behavior to those of TV and movie characters; life imitates art when art glamorizes life. Tattoos, smoking, drinking, cheating, disrespecting, hating and mass murdering are being proliferated where once it seemed on the decline.  Somehow I doubt it is mommy asking junior to go suck smoke, get inked, or kill 20 people.

Marriage is a social structure that has been disregarded. It is foundational to family despite how it is portrayed. It is promises to love, cherish, protect, and obey. It should be where children learn of commitment to someone other than themselves. Imagine the message to the child when a parent says, “I will always love you,” while walking away from their oath of matrimonial love.

We might say, “Yeah, but marriage fails.” Society allows marriage to fail by not supporting it and by not confronting actions that detract from it. It is possible that family and friends, and the media, can discourage the inappropriate actions and encourage positive relational behaviors of marriage. This influence comes through example, stories, and church. We know what it takes to woo a lover as we enact it during courtship. We also know what breaks apart the bindings of relationships. It is not rocket science.

Evil is real. You may not believe in the supernatural or spiritual though you have likely witnessed something you labeled as evil. How did you know? It is interesting that humans know evil. I think we know evil just as we know life. We don’t understand it but we know it exists.

Where do we start to eliminate the evil that is Newtown, Aurora, Columbine, World Trade Center Attack, Alfred P. Murrah Bombing, the Holocaust, Ukrainian Genocide, Bath Township in Michigan, Armenian Genocide, etc. Is it by disarming or by arming the masses? What if we eliminate or reshape media programing? How would society be changed if parents were husband and wife, and demonstrated the unconditional love they swore to live?

Where would you start?

Related articles

• Mass Shooting in CT (PatrickMead.net)
• Evil Is to Blame (pjmedia.com)
• Views of Violence (stevesimms.wordpress.com)
• Stitch by Stitch: thoughts on grief and hope (Postsem.wordpress.com)
• Why Again? (sturner2.net)