Like the rest of Americans on Friday, I was unable to comprehend the horrific tragedy that occurred in Connecticut. The past few days I've found myself constantly thinking about the victims and their families. More than once I've stopped what I was doing and prayed for everyone that was affected.
But now that the initial shock has worn off, I am going to throw my two cents into the ring.
We need to find a better way to help people who have mental illnesses. We are taught to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, give shelter to the homeless, visit the sick, visit the imprisoned, and bury the dead.
I think in this spirit, we need to find a way to treat those that are mentally ill. Many of the murderers who commit these crimes have a serious mental illness. And we just don't have the right tools in place to treat them appropriately. If someone had an unusual form of cancer, we would do what we could to help them. We should focus efforts on the mentally ill, too. Waiting until it's too late is just too devastating.
We also need to stop letting kids play with such violent video games. I heard on the news that watching the killings over and over make kids think it's happening each time. And each time you "kill" someone in a video game, it desensitizes you to the real thing. I've seen those games. They are disgusting. And they are most certainly not for children. I saw a little boy at church who was about 9 wearing a Call of Duty shirt. What a 9 year old was doing with that game is beyond me. The Hubster and his brother play that game occasionally. It's violent and certainly not intended for kids.
I know I sound preachy. I'm probably saying the same things others have said. I hope that we can start a conversation on how to help those who need it.
May God bless the victims of Newtown.
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