Society Shoots it's mouth off AGAIN!
Our politicians can not help themselves. Disgrace, or Delight depending on your side of the aisle.....
Here we are talking about another school shooting. It could easily have been in a mall in mid-America, or a supermarket in a big city like a week ago in Buffalo. There are plenty of numbers and emotions to unwrap in this era of violence.
In the 1970s firearm laws were much weaker than they are today. But in the last couple of decades young men especially have taken it upon themselves to enter schools, supermarkets, and malls to kill innocent bystanders.
School shootings started in the 50s. No, not the 1950s. The 1850s is when the first shooting of a teacher in a school occurred here in America. I Heard people stating that this only happens in the United States of America. But the reality is far from that. In the top 13 highest mast shooting events, 11 of them have occurred in other countries outside the United States. The top 5 All occurred outside the United States. Of those many occur in supposed gun-free places, one of the top five was in New Zealand, another of those five was in Australia, and other gun-free places like France, Norway, and China finish out the top 10 worst massacres. Of the top 30 events, 70% have occurred since the year 2000. Of the 15 Top occurrences in the United States, only three occurred before 1999. One going all the way back to the University of Texas shootings of 1966. Another forgotten fact is that 92% of shootings occurring in deaths in the United States are from illegal weapons. A mass shooting is considered to be 4 or more fatalities, but they represent a relatively small percentage of overall gun crimes. 1% of all murders, and only 25% occur with the ugly Weapons of War moniker that politicians label them with.
So the dramatic uptick in Shooting sprees began in the late 1990s and early 2000s. There is a long list of things that have changed in the last three decades. Church decline, eroding of the nuclear family, and the rise of the Internet come to mind first. Social media became a mainstay for those locked in their homes with anything from killing games, to pornography having become prevalent during this period. People have lost all respect for each other. We scream and fight on Facebook or Twitter as if it causes no harm to anyone.
Many of these shooters show signs long before they go on their killing rampage. Drugs, alcohol, violence, mental illness, depression, and generally one parent is missing in the home. So many factors, but both sides in the political sphere are anchored to their promises and beliefs. One side blames the guns and ignores the mental health side of it. The other side focuses on the individual and seems to not want to make changes to laws to make it harder to get weapons. Other factors like security at schools, grocery stores, and malls around our country make it easy for bad men to come and do bad things. We hear of algorithms looking for this exact type of person. But we always seem to be a day late and a dollar short to stop it. Maybe just maybe a change in one of these factors would’ve stopped this heinous crime. But, couple them all together for improvement, and we may do some justice for those who have been lost already, and lessen the blows of future events to come.
I did some research on a speech that Will Cain talked about Tuesday evening by David Foster Wallace. DFW talked about how you don’t get a choice on whether to worship or not to worship. You get a choice as to what you worship….. I for one love to stay abreast of the world including politics. But, we are now seeing people worship politics. Maybe because of social media and the mainstream media. Maybe because we run from religion and sanity because we are asked to abide by morals given by God. We become our own God knowing all. But, if we as a people are now becoming consumed by our own power. Then it will be the case that those folks will sacrifice anything for their own righteousness, for their own narcissism, for their own partisanship. Naked exploitation by politicians almost immediately after any tragedy that they can use to bludgeon their opponents is grotesque and condescending to every American. Why not take the opportunity to draw the nation closer, we all agree that the shooting was horrendous and are looking for answers. Instead, our president decided to drive a stake between all of us by bringing up partisan politics to use for his advantage. What I saw was a continued draining of our humanity as we suck every bit of oxygen out of the room in these types of circumstances. It was in full view Tuesday night as our president talked to the nation.
Disunity Joe struck again as he blew a perfect opportunity to take the High-ground which in turn could have brought us together in a shared cause. In-kind he would have garnered more respect from all sides as everyone looks for a fix to the problem. Beto O’rorke looked to gain political power by staging theatrics and making a fool of himself before all of the information was even available.
Now both Presidents Biden and Obama have stood on the graves of dead children for partisan politics. No shame in any way, shape, or form from them. Should we have expected any less from our political class? I for one looked for more. Now I worry that we as a nation have lost our spirituality and have lost our way. Becoming more callous and self-consuming. We have morally become a rudderless ship lost in the depths of a vast ocean of our own making.
I want you to put away those worries and prepare for a future that will be different. If you are willing to grab the prize of all prizes, the king of all kings. Jesus Christ. Then no matter the problems, he will be there. No matter how low you go, HE IS THERE! Yes, we do have comfort in knowing that Jesus stands beside us and that he gave his life and rose again for us.
Lastly, Jesus told us life is to serve others and to trust in him. That he will give you strength to help others. That he will give you solace in knowing that you are loved. So, if you are Burdened by any problem. Put your faith in Jesus, the great I AM, the only TRUTH, THE ONLY TRUTH, that will carry you through the troubles we endure!