Keep talking, James

            Bravo to High School Class President James Rennie for showing true leadership in addressing his fellow students on the subject of school killings [ref. Perquimans Weekly 3/21/18]. He makes a point that few others have raised. While guns have been used in school massacres, guns by themselves are not the problem. The solution lies elsewhere. And part of the solution is with students who must bear some of the responsibility. They themselves need to change in the way they interact with potential killers who are isolated or show signs of hostility. That’s a wise insight from a young man who wants to do something about the problem.

            Blaming the Second Amendment or the NRA misses the real target. Responsible gun owners are not the ones who do the killing; it’s the bad guys and the psychopaths who can always find a way to get their hands on a gun. And if they choose not to use a gun, they can build bombs, as we’ve seen just recently in Texas. Or use cars, or poison, or fire.

            We can debate arming teachers, restricting gun ownership, improving background checks, or re-examining mental illness policy. But these approaches only deal with the periphery of the problem whose true causes lie in the decline of moral values as seen in the breakup of families and the absence of fathers in the home, the increase in out-of-wedlock births, the crushing dependence on welfare, religious faith replaced by greed and self-indulgence, the insatiable demand for drugs, and the corrupting influence of our entertainment industry.

            All these causes need to be addressed. But James Rennie is right. The solution starts with each one of us and the part we all play in society, beginning with how we take heed of those around us, whether in the classroom, the office, or the home. Keep talking, James. You’re off to a good start.