Tuesday, August 6, 2019

finding an answer to mass shootings


In the wake of two mass shootings, politicians and the public are scrambling for answers.   I’m not sure they will be looking in the right places.

In many parts of the world, the weapon of choice for mass violence is explosives.  Japan and China have had a number of incidents of mass stabbings, while London had to crack down on knives, because so many were being used to kill people.  And let’s not forget the 80-some people who were mowed down by a truck in France. 

It wasn’t the wide availability of explosives, knives, and trucks that made all these atrocities happen.  It was evil from the human heart. 

Guns have always been a major part of the American way, but so were the Ten Commandments, with its Thou shalt not kill.  We also had Love your neighbor as yourself, and Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.  All of these were from the Bible, the same Bible that informed our Founders that God gave people unalienable rights, the founding principle of our country.

A secular society has no answer for evil and hatred, except laws that restrict everybody’s behavior, the addition of thousands of law enforcement officers, and billions of dollars on government agencies devoted to protect us from each other.