Gunplay USA 2012

I am up late tonight reading about the tragedy in Newtown, CT.  20 first graders gunned down by one sick young man has been on my mind most of the last 2 days.  We in the United States have some very bad characteristics in our culture, and I am afraid it is going to get a lot worse before it gets better. I haven't written anything on my blog about this, but I have given it some thought.  Gun laws are not the answer alone, it is just a piece of the equation. Movies, TV shows, computer games and even our language ("gunplay") need to be examined as a source of teaching violence as a way of life. Guns are portrayed so often as the answer, the solution, the hero's way of solving problems.  These problems do not exist in other countries to the degree we have it here in the USA. And, finally, the safety nets of a caring society are not there. It does take a village to raise a member of society. Those who mock that are ignorant of what it means to live in a healthy society. Mental health has to be more comprehensive and available.  We need to care more about each other.  A culture of "I" needs to be replaced by a culture of "we" and "us".  I don't want to think about the families that lost a child Friday in Newtown, CT. The pain is too much to comprehend. Their lives have been changed forever. I wish I could see something positive come out of this madness.  We aren't the best country in the world. We can chant USA until the cows come home, but that will not make us better. The death of 28 people say differently.