"Come, Let Us Reason Together" The First in a Series Addressing Public Violence

            The holidays are over, the year is ended, and things are settling back into a more reasonable and comfortable groove.  Now is the time for reasonable thinking, planning, and action.

            I have avoided raising my emotionally charged voice to declare my horror at the events of recent weeks.  I have wanted the dust to settle before weighing in on the subject of what happened in Connecticut, and other places. 

            I considered not commenting at all, but a number of people who read this work have urged me to speak up on the issues surrounding this tragedy.  What surprises me are the number of varying opinions of what the problems are and what we should do to solve them. One thing I have learned by sitting back, listening, and waiting for the air to clear, is that the problem of public violence is many-faceted, and the opinions and ideas are all valid. Instead of trying to address all the issues in one column, I will look at the problems over the next few weeks.

            The elephant in the room, when talking about the events in Connecticut specifically and public violence in general, is gun control.  I will wrap myself in the cloak of the Second Amendment, and say in my best drawl, with my pistol packing posture, "Guns don't kill people, people kill people," and I believe, with all my heart, that this is true.  But in light of recent events, I must qualify that with a "yes, but…"

            I have fired thousands of rounds of ammunition through M-16s, AK-47s, and other assault weapons.  I like them, they have saved my life, and I love to shoot them, but they have only one function, and that is to kill people.  It is an evil necessity, but it is there and assault rifles are the tool for it.  Since returning from a war, and having lived in a free country since, I recognize the limitations of assault weapons.

            They are terrible for home defense.  You would not use a screwdriver for a hammer and not expect disastrous results.  The same can be said for using an assault weapon to defend our home.  There are better tools.  Unless a horde of bad guys are storming the manor, I have no use for one.  I hear the argument at gun shows often, "Well, you need to be prepared."  Yes, I agree, and I am.  You come onto my property, or enter my home with evil intent; you will be met with a searing defense, but not from an assault weapon.

            My defense of mine and me is to do so without risking additional harm to us. Operating an assault weapon in close quarters is both ineffective, and dangerous. From experience, I can tell you that when bringing a weapon to bear on a target, the longer the barrel, the longer the time it takes to get it there, and an action is always faster than a reaction. I want a weapon in my hand that moves faster than the bad guy's, and that I have confidence in. I also want my defense to be safe for others in my charge.

            The bad guy does not care where his rounds go. He is trying to do harm, whereas, I am defending, trying to limit his harm, and not cause more. I want to be able to direct my fire to the best effect without injuring my people and property. An assault weapon does not give me the best chance to achieve this end. 

            I am certain that there are many who can recount stories of successful home defenses involving an assault rifle. They were lucky. I know one story where an assault rifle, in the hands of a home defender, was used with disastrous results. In the excitement and fear of the moment, he tripped and fell. The weapon discharged a single round into the ceiling, passing through the upstairs floor, through a stack of books on that floor, through a box spring, a mattress, into and through his daughter, through the ceiling of that room, through the attic above, and out the roof. One such story is enough. Give me a weapon I can control, that will not penetrate walls, producing, as they say, collateral damage. All the "collateral" I care about has names.

            None of us wants to be told what to do by our government, and the Second Amendment was earned by, and sealed with, blood, but the time has come to look at its real intent. We need some limits, and some controls, but an armed society is a polite society. There has to be a reasonable compromise between the right to bear arms and the safety of society. The very weapons we designed to protect the innocents are being used to slaughter them. Something is wrong, and it needs reason, not knee-jerk reaction to solve the problem. Assault weapons have their place, but not in schools, not as hunting weapons, and not in my home.

            This is an unpopular stance, but I take it without apology. I love guns, the Constitution, and the freedom both afford me, but when the guarantees of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are no longer protected, but are taken from any of our citizens by our right to bear arms, something needs to change. Be brave enough to face it, and let us once again, provide an environment absent of fear for those we love to grow up safe.

"Come, Let Us Reason Together" The Second in a Series Addressing Public Violence

            Within the problem of public violence, no issue raises us to the heights of passion, pro or con, as does gun control, which was addressed last week. There is one facet of the problem that has the opposite effect. Shhh! I don't want to hear it, or talk about it. Go away, mental health.

            Years ago, the mentally ill were warehoused, put away from society; out of sight, out of mind. "I don't want to see it, so I will put my head in the sand, or better yet, make the crazy people go away," was society's attitude. Things have improved, yet this attitude is still prevalent. We fear what we don't understand, and for centuries, man has struggled to understand and deal with mental illness, to understand those who are, and how to treat them.

            This fear has caused us to stereotype the mentally ill as being prone to violence where the opposite is true. Quoting from a study by Mental Health Reporting, "Although studies suggest a link between mental illnesses and violence, the contribution of people with mental illnesses to overall rates of violence is small, and further, the magnitude of the relationship is greatly exaggerated in the minds of the general population." Further, "People with psychiatric disabilities are far more likely to be victims than perpetrators of violent crime. People with severe mental illnesses, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or psychosis, are 2 ½ times more likely to be attacked, raped, or mugged than the general population."

            So where does this perception come from? Quoting again from the same study; "Characters in prime time television portrayed as having a mental illness are depicted as the most dangerous of all demographic groups: 60 percent were shown to be involved in crime or violence. The vast majority of news stories on mental illness focus on other negative characteristics related to people with the disorder. Notably absent are positive stories that highlight recovery of many persons with even the most serious of mental illnesses"  

            There are many among us who have a mental disorder, who are being treated, and no one will ever know them from another. They have families, hold jobs, function in civic and church activities, and are solid citizens. Still, there are many who go undiagnosed and untreated, some of whom are violent. 

            Other studies have shown that the majority of the perpetrators of public acts of violence resulting in mass killings have described their planned actions to a mental health professional, parent, or friend. These same studies have identified behaviors that MIGHT be precursors to violence, but warn that they just as likely are not.

            August 1, 1966, Charles Whitman, a former Marine, and engineering student at the University of Texas at Austin, went to the top of the 28-story tower in the center of the campus, and at noon began an assault on anyone below. Before his rampage was over, Whitman had killed 14 and wounded 32. The mass shooting touched my life, I was there, and changed the consciousness of the country. 

            Whitman had confessed, only days before, to a University psychiatrist that he had fantasized about "going up on the Tower with a deer rifle and shooting people." This event caused legislation to be written in Texas requiring health and education professionals to report any individual who made such remarks that they thought were a danger to themselves or others. It is a judgment call for psychiatrist and others, and is flawed. Some argue that it has the effect of causing those truly sick and having violent thoughts to avoid seeking help.

            Another contributing factor to the mental health problem is a shortage of care. My son is a psychiatrist about to enter the Navy. He was heavily recruited by the service and was told that there are only sixty psychiatrists on active duty at any one time. These are serving the 750,000 comprising the Navy and Marine Corps. Care for the civilian populace is equally inadequate.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are 23,140 psychiatrists practicing in the United States, in Alabama, only 290.

            The reason so few choose psychiatry is money. Most other doctors are paid on a per procedure basis, whereas, psychiatry is more a flat rate, if insurance pays at all. Submitting an insurance claim creates a permanent record of having sought help for a mental problem, which brings us to the stigma of mental illness.

            We have come a long way from how it was when I served in the military and came home with PTSD issues. Talking to a counselor was unmanly, and job threatening. A retired U.S. Customs Agent related to me how it was unspoken, but known, that if you sought counseling after a shooting incident, you were taken out of the field, and given a desk job.

            The stigma has diminished, but it is still there. Mental illness makes us uncomfortable. We 
understand, and are tolerant of all but the most infectious diseases, but of mental health, there is confusion and fear. Before we can identify those prone to violence, and treat them, we have to create an environment where all feel safe when seeking help with mental problems.         
             I hope you are beginning to see how the problem of public violence is a Rubik's Cube within a Rubik's Cube. Before the issue is solved, and legislation won't do it, all the colors have to be lined up, and there are many, many of them. We will twist the Cube again next week. 

"Come, Let Us Reason Together" The Third in a Series Addressing Public Violence

            The problem of public violence is modern society's Hydra, the creature of Greek mythology with reptilian features, which had many heads. As with the Hydra conquered by Hercules, the cutting off one of the heads of ours gives rise to two more until more than one individual takes strong, quick action. Hercules had his nephew Lolaus to aid him. We have no super hero, or person with super human powers to kill our Hydra as in myth. We have to do it ourselves, and our only weapon is each other.

            Over the previous two weeks, we have identified two heads that need addressing, gun control, and mental health. A third head is the pervasiveness of violence in our society. It is everywhere.

            Watching TV for four hours one night last week, I witnessed twelve murders, some of which were so heinous that my stomach turned. You may say that I am watching the wrong shows, and I will not argue with you, but the majority of American viewers don't agree. These are the top rated shows on television.

            I did not watch these shows from beginning to end. I was switching back and forth from the NFL playoff games where I was able to view even more violence, sanctioned violence, violence that makes football the number one sport in America. Following this bombardment of murder and mayhem offered as entertainment, the local news served me a dose of reality with a story about the murder of an infant, and stories of robbery, and muggings. The national news escalated the violence to war in almost all parts of the globe. There is no escaping it.  

            I do not play video games, and most likely never will, but I have seen their results. In the late eighties, and early nineties, "Dungeons and Dragons" was popular, and became an obsession with many teens, so much so, that two young men that I knew, who were close friends, became so enthralled with the game that it became reality to them. One day they fought with swords from one of their father's collections, and one killed the other. In the aftermath, the survivor told his father that his friend wasn't really dead, but would come back to life tomorrow when they started the game again.

            Video game violence has progressed from "Asteroids" where you shoot invading alien warships, through "Pac-man" where a cartoon head eats things and can be blown up, to now where you can steal cars, mug, rape, murder, and do a host of other violent crime in virtual reality, and the more violent the act, the more points you are awarded. Although the games are rated "M" for mature, they are advertised on TV and available to be rented online by highly impressionable teens.

            I have written here before that violence has been good to me. If I were not more violent than the other guys, I wouldn't be writing today, or anything else for that matter. It would be nice if our fellowman would respect us and leave us alone to pursue happiness as we see fit, but that is the wish, not the reality. Violence is unavoidable in many cases, and after exhausting all diplomatic courses, whether it be in a playground altercation, or one involving nations, there comes a time where we must be willing to fight. I was taught at home to never pick a fight, and to not fight until you have to, but when one comes your way, fight. Such teaching and attitude has served our nation and me well.

            Being willing to be more violent than a tyrant, and to sacrifice all, won our nation's independence, and has protected that hard won freedom, and freedoms of lesser nations for over two centuries. We do not speak German, or Japanese because of our willingness to stand up to bullies and whip them until they leave us alone. As Theodore Roosevelt said, "Speak softly and carry a big stick."

            What do we do about the cancer of violence that eats away at the soul of our society? How can we curb it, and not glorify it? There is a way to kill our Hydra, but it will take more courage than our nation and society have ever had to display. We have never backed down from a problem, and public violence has a solution, and it is a simple, peaceful one, but it will require change, and we fear change.

            Next week, in the final offering in this series, we will explore the root of this problem and the very simple solution to it. I don't think you will be surprised as to what it is. Many of you are already doing it, and doing it well, some are not, but all of us will have to do better, and I warn you, it may be simple, but it is the hardest thing I have ever done.

"Come, Let Us Reason Together" The Fourth and Final in a Series Addressing Public Violence

            The Hydra was the monster of mythology with many heads, that when one was cut off, two more sprang up in its place unless the stub of the missing head was burned, so that no more could grow. It took great strength and courage to kill Hydra.

            Our Hydra, public violence, with its many heads of gun proliferation, mental health, societies' tolerance of violence, video games, and all the heads that will grow when one is lopped off, will, as in myth, take a Herculean effort to kill, but it can be done. Our solution is as simple as slashing and burning, but far more difficult. 

            To implement the solution to our problem of public violence, we have to go back to basics, back to fundamentals. That is what any coach or teacher in any discipline preaches. When you are having a problem, when things are going badly, go back to the basics, the fundamentals. The same principal applies to any aspect of life. When the problem seems insurmountable, go back to basics, the fundamentals.

            What are the fundamentals of society upon which all is built? The family. We have lost our way in society because the basic concept of family has changed. It is time to get back to basics.

            The basic family is a man and a woman, married, with children. In my basic family, my mother was the nurturer, the stay at home parent, while my father was the provider, the one who faced the world every day to make sure we at home were protected and had what we needed to grow and prosper. Society has strayed from this model.

            It began with the desire and quest for material things, which has driven the mother out of the home and into the work place. Young couples are no longer willing to wait, struggle, and sacrifice to build a future and a family. They want it now, thus, the mother works. Not so long ago, the norm was for the father to work and the mother to nurture at home. That is no longer the rule, but the exception.

            I know how hard it is to provide for a family in modern times. I have done it for eight children and thirty-nine years, with five or more to go before the Princesses are grown and gone. Until last year, the Admiral had never worked, and doesn't have to now, but as the Princesses are no longer homeschooled, and I am at home, she has chosen to labor in her field of special education. Being a family with a single provider has not been easy, and we have not had the biggest, the best, or the most, but we have had sufficient for our needs, and enough left over for some wants.

            When number two daughter in the first litter of six, (the Princesses constitute the second litter of two) was getting married, the family was together the night before the wedding. The Admiral and I asked them what they remembered about growing up with us. Their answer was surprising.

            Not one mentioned the cars, the nice house, the boat, or trips we took. To a person, their fondest memories were when we were so poor we couldn't afford to run the air conditioning, so in the evenings, we would load into the beat up Volkswagen bus, strap the canoe on top and go to a creek. There, we would float it, have a picnic, throw the kids into the current and let them float down stream to the end of a sand bar where the Admiral waited, then climb out of the water, run to where I was and do it all over again.

            The bride's memory was different. She recalled a time as a pre-teen when she and I were traveling together by air and I went into a store on the concourse and bought her a rose. I have no recollection of that event, but it is precious to her.

            Regardless of the memory, it wasn't the material things that were important to them, it was the time. The time we spent together as a family, the nurturing they experienced by both parents.

            During that time together, we taught them the basics. They learned discipline by us, and of self. They learned respect for their siblings, which would translate to others outside the family. They learned tolerance. In a family of eight children, each is different, but they respect those differences.

            They did not play video games much, and never of a violent nature, because we as parents were, and are involved in their activities, monitoring what they do. They are taught moral principles and we trust them to make right choices. Should they not, they will be disciplined until they do.

            That is what is missing in our modern society, discipline. I have no fear of any of my children committing public acts of violence. They know respect, tolerance, and discipline, but they have also learned that problems have solutions. Their lives are not perfect, but they know that if the solution to a problem does not come today, it will be worked on tomorrow, or the next day, or maybe the next several days, but there is a solution. They have taken responsibility for the problem. It is no one else's fault.

            Our solution is to get back to fathers presiding over their families in love and righteousness, providing as well as protecting them, and for mothers being primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. Things happen, such as death, illness, and divorce that make this ideal impossible, but whether these roles are strictly adhered to or not, the basic principles of good citizenship and discipline can be taught.

            The solution to public violence does not exist in governments legislating guns, mental health, video games, or anything else. The solution is in your home around the dinner table as parents preside over discussions of daily events and give proper guidance and discipline to the children. If we raise good citizens in the home, public violence, our Hydra, will die, as we no longer feed it.