Gun violence in the US has claimed 1,516,863 lives to date. The recent shootings in Vegas and Texas are grim reminders of this fact.  Unfortunately, the government hasn’t yet been able to agree how to address the problem.  We need to take a larger view of it and work on all sides of the issue.

Disconnect in Education​

A common trait among people who are involved in mass shootings is that they are loners without an active social life. We have to identify what is missing in education that is making these people so disconnected from society. A hostile environment at school or at home, such as bullying, can cause emotional scars that lead to destructive tendencies. It is vital to give children an inclusive and supportive environment at school, and teachers have a big role to play in the holistic development of students.

Education is incomplete if it does not fill one with enthusiasm, and if it does not inculcate an appreciation of life. A broad-based, values-based education is needed to instill a broader vision in the future generation. Instilling values and habits, and making new friends from different communities will help children open up and give them a sense of security. Education must have an element that frees our future generations from mindless prejudices.

Mind Management is Important

When their mind is stressed, children are often driven to destructive tendencies. The information explosion is resulting in children being exposed to huge volumes of information, most of which they are not able to process. This can lead to restlessness and irritation. Such tendencies, if not attended to, can harden into destructive behaviour.

Yoga, meditation and similar life-skills are needed to equip our children with tools to wash away any emotional stress long before it becomes harmful to themselves or others.

The Abundance and Easy Availability of Guns

When the Second Amendment was written in the eighteenth century, people had to be armed to hunt for food and to protect themselves from attacks as a militia. Though that is not the situation today, the freedom to bear arms is glorified as a legacy of early American history. While everybody supports responsible gun ownership, it is not easy to enforce and as a result, guns are readily available to unstable people too. Too many firearms are certainly a contributing factor to mass shootings, and these incidents further drive people to buy more guns out of fear. This is the vicious loop that America is caught in, that the gun lobby is unwilling to acknowledge because it suits their business.

The Absence of Trust

Just as cells have an individual existence and, at the same time, are part of a larger organism, so also people and communities. When there is discord at the cellular level, the organism is crippled with disease. When people start thinking that anyone can attack them any time, when a government which is meant to be ‘of the people, by the people, for the people’ can go against the people, there is nobody left to trust. Such an untrusting social atmosphere is potentially self-destructive.

What holds a society together is faith in the goodness of people. When this faith dwindles, the social structure can begin to crumble due to paranoia. Higher values cannot flourish in society when such fear and distrust prevail. While laws can impose penalties, they cannot remove distrust among people.

The Message of Nonviolence

There is a sense of pride that has become attached to violence. We need to change this. We need to show our future generations that there is enormous strength in non-violence. When children are exposed to so much violence through video games and movies, they begin see it as normal in real life too. There is need for a collective and holistic action to tackle this.  Change is needed at both levels, in legislation as well as in the mindset. The policy makers, intellectuals and faith-based leaders have to work together to educate people and build public opinion against violent games.

Times are Changing

Traditions and social customs need to be revived and updated with time. While crime is common to all countries, traditional attachment to gun culture and the issues arising out of it are unique to America. Personal rights and freedom are certainly important, but weighing them against the greater good is the sign of a progressive culture. With guns, people might gain an individual sense of safety, but perhaps they do not realize what they collectively lose as a society.