Even if we are far removed from Newtown, Conn., by miles, there are very few people who do not empathize with the families of the victims. And, now we will deal with the question of gun control and how we as a society try to keep this from happening ever again. That is the goal we must work toward but how, if possible, we achieve it is in question.
I have previously mentioned a writer who appears in the “columnist” section of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette’s editorial page. His name is Charles Krauthammer and he writes for the Washington Post. He is also a psychiatrist who practiced in the state of Massachusetts prior to a permanently disabling accident. His in-depth analysis in a brief column about mass murder in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette on Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012, points out the difficulty in dealing with the problems such as the Newtown tragedy. He points out just how complex this issue can be and that our culture must be considered if we want to talk about a permanent solution.
How do we know who is mentally ill? I have met people who needed help dealing with an emotional problem, had the resources to seek help and feared the stigma of seeing a “shrink.” Not all mental health issues require a psychiatrist but we tend to lump all assistance in that category. At one point in my life I sought the help of a psychologist on the recommendation of my pastor. It was successful because I learned to deal with a self-imposed drive for success and the anger that followed any failure. But, the important point being that one doesn’t have to be crazy to benefit from counseling. Too few people seek any kind of help until it is too late. Unless we find a way to help people recognize their own needs, we cannot deal with the problems of a “mass killer.”
The Newtown tragedy is not the first shooting of its kind — just the latest. The University of Texas, Virginia Tech, Jonesboro, Columbine and Fort Hood army base all have some similarities. Someone missed the clues that could have averted the tragedy. Nothing has been done to permanently eliminate mass shooting after these and other similar events. Doing away with all guns violates the Second Amendment and that won’t work, although that is the first knee-jerk reaction. The NRA’s suggestion of armed guards at every school is interesting but probably not feasible at every level of education. Colleges and universities with ROTC programs could arm upper class participants since they are potential military leaders, but lower levels of the educational system would be dependent on federal funding for extra personnel in law enforcement.
The question Dr. Krauthammer poses about our culture recognizes that we have really done nothing to look into our own nation’s morals and do some soulsearching about personal responsibilities. We have tried to take Christian principles out of our schools and out of government, but we have not offered any alternative for establishing individual accountability and moral principles. We have been so busy writing laws to control the lives of people we have forgotten to place the ultimate price as the penalty for violations. We still haven’t tried the major who shot up Fort Hood. Even when convicted, most mass murderers face life in prison to feel the “remorse” of their crime. Capital punishment is a bad word to many people and the trend now seems to be suicide when the gunman is confronted by armed responders. However, we allow the guilty party to lounge in prison long past the point of having any meaningful consequence for their crime.
Legislation to stop the use of automatic weapons in crimes of this kind does not resolve the question of how we as a society establish a respect for others that will keep this type of crime out of our schools.
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Editor’s note: Leo Lynch is an award-winning columnist. He is a native of Benton County has deep roots in northwest Arkansas. He is a retired industrial engineer and former Justice of the Peace. He can be contacted at prtnews@nwaonline. com.