Last Week Was Not Our Happiest Valentine’s Day
About 9 hours ago today, 19 year old Nikolas Cruz, born Sep or 1998, killed at least 17 and injured 20 or more innocent people at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Cruz had “countless magazines” and was believed to have an AR-15 rifle, the sheriff said. The sheriff said Cruz had attended the school but was expelled for disciplinary reasons. This is one tragic in an increasing series of tragic events that should never have happened. One more… too many.
The number one problem today is not guns… it is “Parenting, or the lack thereof.” This has caused a degeneration of our society. Lack of or poor parenting has led to the lack of discipline, respect and a frustration amongst our youth of today tragically vented by troubled people like Nickolas Cruz. I think the “Degeneration of our Culture and Society is a bigger and more important problem than the proliferation of guns.
It’s true that guns make injuring and killing people easier and quicker, particularly semi-automatic weapons like the AR-15. However, guns and all other weapons, are just instruments, and not the root cause of these terrible, tragic incidents, like the one this afternoon.
Nickolas Cruz, a 19 year old past student and troubled youth at the Stoneman Douglas High School, expelled for disciplinary problems, was the one who planned this killing in great detail and pulled… and pulled and pulled the trigger, and the gun(s) responded with a barrage of bullets. The gun was the instrument of death, but the man (Cruz) was the “cause” of the deaths and injuries.
When Americans, and those in other countries, finally wake up to to the “real causes” of these tragic shootings, then just maybe we can begin to solve this problem. So, what are the causes? Well, I will list some of them which in my opinion contribute to these tragedies:
1- A breakdown in our society. It started following WWII, Korean & Vietnam Wars and the desire to never have another war or more killings, and celebrating freedom and ignoring the possibility of violence. If we just ignore it, maybe it won’t exist… it will just go away.
2- More sex, less precaution and safety, more kids; Split families with no father involved; Women working more instead of being an at-home parent to their children; Kids being “farmed-out” to care-givers, and often, the total lack of teaching of discipline and respect.
3- And then came the “training machines,” those video games… those “killing machines.” They made killing seem so exciting, exhilarating and so easy and innocent with no feeling of fear, guilt or shame, or any punishment or even disapproval by their parents or care-givers. After all, it kept the kids busy and out of their way.
4- These kids grew up sitting on their ass, practicing killing and maiming and getting lazy and obese and 40% will become diabetic in the future. Just think, how they might have been different… better children and adults, IF they had been taught respect and disciplined to clean their rooms, take out the trash, get a summer job, and at least get out and play ball, associate with others and get some exercise.
5- Oh, and then there is the “Media.” The Mighty-Media, which has found that people listen and watch when tragedy occurs and it covers it great detail… almost glorifying it, or at least making it seem so common, that a “kid” or “mentally warped” adult can feel that it is so common-place today that it is acceptable and an easy way to attract the attention that they have missed while sequestered in their room on social media or playing video games. To the Media, ratings are the most important thing and with higher ratings, come increased salaries and bonuses. We seem to thrive on a “diet of evil,” even though we claim to want, and even demand peace and harmony.
6- Now, let’s not forget “Mental Health Issues.” The population has doubled in my short lifetime, therefore so has the number of people with mental instabilities ranging from slight to just plain crazy. However, reportedly the percent of those with mental problems has NOT increased and has actually decreased in past decades with newer and better treatments available. There is still much room for needed improvement, but it does not explain why some mentally impaired are so much more prone to violence today than in decades past. I think the answer is a combination of the other six items in this post: Items 1 through 5 and particularly 7, which have exacerbated the state of one’s mental health by keeping it hidden… out of sight, out of mind, less thinkable, therefore less fixable.
7- And finally, “We, the People,” have become so “Politically Correct,” that we can’t even think about anything that might be objectionable to someone, much less, openly discuss it so that we just might find a solution. Political Correctness has plagued the Unites States, Canada, Australia and most of Northwestern Europe to the point that “We” are being taken over and dominated by “Minority” which force us, the majority, to bend to their wishes and demands, their Religion, their Politics and their Ways of Life. Ways that are unacceptable and incompatible with our Constitution, our Government, our Religions and our Way of Life. Yet, “We the Sheeple,” set back, look the other way, and let it happen. Hell! No wonder our kids think “Anything goes.” We blame “Things” instead of people who use them for evil! It is always “something” else’s or someone else’s fault… never ours. Well, someday, history will probably show that it “Was our fault,” and “Bad things happen, when good people do nothing.”
We must change people… We must change our ambivalence, our political correctness, our culture, our civilization… we must change people. I know that seems unacceptable, but we must. For thousands of generations humanoids have adapted to an ever-changing climate. Today, we find that unacceptable… we must change the climate to suit our needs… but will we? Will we continue to blame guns? Remember, if all good, law-abiding people give up their guns, only bad people will have them. If we could get rid of all guns, then there would still be other weapons. Before there were guns and bombs, there were knives and swords, and before that there were arrows, clubs and stones. There will always be weapons… we must change people. Many of us were trained to kill if necessary with our bare hands, so should we all have our hands amputated? I suggest, we get respect, discipline and even obedience back in our families and our schools… and yes, allow Christian and other prayer in the classroom and at sporting events. If we continue to allow a 2% minority of our population to dictate that our rights be replaced by theirs, soon we will loose the very qualities that once “Made America Great.” President Trump can’t do it… “If it’s to become true, it’s up to YOU.
