Reflections on Sandy Hook Tragedy

 

Today, another mass shooting killed 20 innocent children and adults in an elementary school in Newtown, CT.

Now, our hearts are opened to those dear children especially, and to their parents and all who are impacted by this needless tragedy.

I’m not sure we ever really know why things happen as they do. And I am sure there will be countless theories about motive and diagnoses of the man who pulled the triggers.

Since there are statistics that show how the US leads most of the countries in the world by a wide margin with the most deaths by gun, it seems time to address this issue once again. I agree that guns do not kill people, people kill people. Yet when the options of choice include the availability of guns, it seems this screams out for a new look at accessibility.

Of course we will never be able to profile every person who will become a mass killer or criminal. But there must be some regulations that can be implemented and enforced that will limit people with known background issues from purchasing guns.

Another real issue is the troubled soul and misguided energies involved in situations like these. This is clearly a spiritual and mental health issue. A troubled soul or souls can lash out toward others when they do not have the skills or abilities to communicate or deal with deep personal conflicts.

 This is a societal issue as well as we look at the US military-industrial complex that glamorizes weapons, power, and killing in “sanctioned” actions of international conflicts and black operations through the intelligence agencies, often with intended or unintended “collateral damage resulting in the deaths of civilians, both adults and children. 

Loving-kindness needs to be taught to our children and to all the adults who dare listen. Conflict resolution and communication skills are learned and can and should be taught in every level of our society.  The area of aiding people with overwhelming stress and personal issues is an area that calls out to me and I think to each one of us who is concerned about the troubled souls walking around among us.

It takes courage to walk beyond denial and to help those we may know in our group of friends or family who may show symptoms of depression, secretive behavior, speaking of violent resolutions to problems, or self destruction… even if it is a joking way. Some may show an unusual interest in weapons and look for ways to purchase one or more guns. What is the purpose of an obsession with guns? Guns do provide one of the easiest options for both self-destruction and murdering or trying to eliminate outside objects of hostility.

Today, another mass shooting killed 20 innocent children and 7 adults in an elementary school in Newtown, CT… Now, our hearts are opened to those dear children especially, and to their parents and all who are impacted by this needless tragedy. Let us do what we can, each one of us, to make the world a safer space for all of us. Love demands no less.

John Hutchinson
john@sunhutch.com