The recurring cause of mass shootings.
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Earlier this week, I posed the question: How much stress can Americans endure before cracking?
My central thesis: My point: Escalating stress levels are evident … and spreading like wildfire across geographies, demographics, and age groups.
I ended by asking: Where’s the breaking point — individually and collectively? … and, What will “the great break” look like?
Mine was a cosmic-level question.
Then came the tragedy at Robb Elementary School which made the question very real, and very specific.
Dem politicos immediately seized the opportunity to call for stricter gun control laws.
GOP politicos called for more police and “hardening” school access.
IMHO, the WSJ hit the nail on the head in their editorial Young Men, Guns and Guardrails which argued, in part:
The problem of how to stop mass shootings by disturbed young men is one of the hardest in a democratic society.
Stopping mass shooters like the one in Uvalde, Texas, will be harder than passing a law.
The societal challenge is anticipating when a young man — and it is nearly always a young man — will snap.
Today’s young killers … are typically from middle-class families.
They with access to smartphones and X-boxes.
Their deficit is social and spiritual.
The rise of family dysfunction and the decline of mediating institutions such as churches and social clubs have consequences.
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My take:
Two of the most disparaged social institutions in America these days are religion , which provides a moral compass … and the nuclear family, which traditionally provided youngsters with nurturing, moral support and a grounding in right and wrong.
Now, actualizing the mantra that Hillary Clinton coined that “It takes a village”, there’s a reliance on “the village” … an amorphous array of institutions, individuals and values that muddles mores and liberate parents from their responsibilities.
When “right & wrong” are muddled, there is no moral clarity.
When “the village” is responsible, nobody is responsible.
And, when “the village” fails us, we’re screwed.
And, we wonder why things are going haywire…
The Homa Files 
May 28, 2022 at 7:11 pm |
Prof. Homa, it is sad that we are attributing this to everything (religion and nuclear family) except for the fact that an 18 yr old can buy guns and ammunition without a back ground check. Being and immigrant who grew up in India I had never ever seen this happen that someone can enter a school or church or store or temple or synagogue or a Mosque and open fire indiscriminately. We had terrorist incidents but those are different. I have never heard this in any other country in the world.. why?? because access to weapons are very limited. You have to undergo substantial checks and have to register the weapons you buy.. I fear for my two kindergarten going daughters everyday,, obviously I could be dismissed as an immigrant who doesn’t know what I am talking about ( Given the stupid response of Trump and Ted Cruz and several others on 2nd amendment).. however its sad.. I hope the sacrifice of 19 kids don’t go waste this time and Texans rise to the call.