It's difficult to know how to address something as heinous as the Newtown massacre, but it must be addressed, it must be written about, it must be discussed among ourselves so that it's never forgotten. This morning I was watching FoxNews' coverage when they simply scrolled the names and ages of the children and adults murdered. Somehow watching that lifeless script roll by indelibly etched the horror in my heart!
How? Why? What's next? How do they recover? How do we as a people, a nation, a world recover? Questions that should be haunting all of us; but I fear too few of us are even thinking about it any longer. We have become a society that is calloused, one that stands back from the fire, one that is quick to 'move on' to something more enjoyable. But if these senseless tragedies are to cease we must take stock of ourselves.
The common response is this is just an isolated incidence, one 'crazy' gone bad, it could never happen here. Tell that to the community of Newton, CT., or Columbine & Aurora, CO., or Virginia Tech, or Jonestown,or the mall shooting in the Northwest, or the families of the 77 murdered in Europe, or countless other shootings that are simply foggy events in the past!
It can and it will happen "here" if we don't make some changes in our society world-wide. I heard an ex-psychology professor at West Point make the case for movies and video games being one of the prime contributors to these events...and I agree with him. He said that these movies and video games teach children how to kill, how to aim and shoot, how to make bombs, how to break in without getting caught, how to shoot everyone at least twice to make sure they're dead, how to steal cars, how to sell and buy drugs, etc., etc. AND HE'S RIGHT! We need to make manufacturers accurately rate their games and movies, and then we as parents must step up to the plate and enforce them. Too many allow their kids to sit for hours and play video games that are filled with horrific actions because it keeps their child quiet, keeps them occupied, keeps them out of trouble, allows them to do what they want without interruption from their children!
I think most of us would agree with Proverbs when it tells us we will become like those we hang out with...well your children are hanging with murderers, drug dealers, prostitutes, thieves, mass murders, and more when they are 'occupied' with their video games or movies! I hope this angers some parents, I hope some of you get very angry with me for daring to suggest that you might be responsible for your child's actions; and then, I hope that anger turns into introspection! I hope you decide to make sure your child doesn't become the next one to turn the video game into real life! Look at the backgrounds of the past shooters; all of them spent countless hours on video games! Does your child?
The aforementioned ex-psychology professor at West Point says, "...this is only the beginning; things will get worse if we continue on this path..." Mike Huckabee says we've created a culture of evil, a culture where God is lacking or removed completely. What did we think would fill that void? We've become obsessed with "our rights as individuals" and completely forgotten about the rights of our Creator!
To the card carrying ACLUers I would say, "We've tried it your way and it's not working!" As a Christian I would tell you it's time we turn back to God, time we put God back in our schools and our homes. Problems in our schools used be gum-chewers or cheaters on tests; now it's mass killings! What's different? Oh yeah, we can't pray, we can't talk about God, we can't even pray SILENTLY!
We have a God who wants to protect us, to shield us from these onslaughts of evil, but we turn our backs on Him; or we play at honoring Him and then wonder where He is. Don't forget Newtown or all the other tragedies before Newtown. Understand it could very well be your child who is the next mass murderer if you don't get involved with their every actions. Leaving them to spend countless hours alone (while in your house with you) is leaving them to the assaults of evil...and soon enough they may fall into the thought process of the Newtown murderer.
As I watched the names scroll by I looked at my local newspaper and read that 20 people had been murdered in San Pedro Sula, where we live, just last night. But I can assure you it will not illicit much response from the people here...we are used to it, calloused to it...just as the world is becoming calloused to these mass murders. They are not one time events. There is a history of them, an ever-increasing history of them...what will we do? MAYBE WE SHOULD TRY TURNING TO GOD!!!
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