Have guns become scapegoats to avoid facing the truth? Let’s think about that.
The Futility of Scapegoating Guns
A very interesting article has come to my attention. It appeared in the Los Angeles Times on August 4, 2019, written by Jillian Peterson, a psychologist, and James Densely, a sociologist. They studied mass shooters since 1966 and found some common characteristics.
- These shooters suffered early childhood trauma, exposure to extreme violence at a young age, seeking validation in extreme communities, and being longtime loners with a flash point like getting fired or expelled from school.
- They were all men.
- A CNN report identified the second note of special interest, “27 Deadliest Mass Shootings in U.S. History,” almost all of them grew up without fathers. Within the same timeframe, an analysis by Snopes’ of the CNN report suggested some legitimate correctives (7 August 2019). It is very fair to conclude that most all grew up without the benefit of a home with a biological mother and father.
In another study, “The team concluded that ‘the effects of violent video games extend to meaningful behaviors in the real world.’ In other words, there was significant evidence from the analysis that video games can contribute to heightened aggressive behavior.” (Business Insider, Lindsay Dodgson, days, “There’s even more evidence that video games could be making children violent” 02/2018).
So, it would seem that an acceptable social science way of stating a conclusion could here be being employed by the media to avoid, by scapegoating guns, the traditional view that the best place to develop self-control, common good values, respect for others, and responsibility is within a well-ordered family. to execute these values must not be faced.
Whether you are anti-gun or pro-gun (anti-second amendment or pro-second amendment), scapegoating guns will not stop the violence. Each recent shooting has found President Biden walking out his worn-out impassioned scapegoating in hopes of garnering support for his next anti-gun “call to arms.”
Diminishing Violence—Two Core Issues
These two core issues or values are central to America’s uniqueness. In my travels to New Zealand and Australia, we have acquired dear friends who have implored us not to be offended by their countrymen who would most certainly criticize our nationalism. I never took offense but would respond with something like, “If you believe what you have is better than what we have, then be gratefully proud of it. I, for one, will not apologize for my nationalism. I live in the greatest nation in the world. It has become great because God blessed us with Founding Fathers who took the Word of God seriously and, certainly with human flaws intertwined, produced a foundation that honors God and encourages its people to do so.
In the Home
We must model, teach, and promote the values we desire to be the fabric of our society. God taught Israel this profound principle in Deuteronomy 6:1-10. When Israel ignored this Divine guidance, they cycled into and out of corruption and violence repeatedly (read Ezekiel one lazy Sunday afternoon and you might be surprised to see this cycle played out repeatedly—don’t be deterred by the visions, just read for the history). Their course of life changed when they reckoned with their failure to listen and therefore change.
In the Public Square
The following must never be modified and must be emphatically cherished:
Article the third… Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Article the fourth… A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Choosing to live by the Constitution, understood and interpreted grammatically, contextually, and historically, will maintain a framework within which our many different can co-exist. The religious foundation, which is the core of Christianity, teaches love, patience, kindness, and self-control. However, the natural man will tend to choose self-centeredness, self-love, and self-indulgence (money, power, and sex). Only a strong practicing Christian majority will hold unbelievers in check (II Thes 2:1-2 and II Tim 3:1-9).
Conclusion and Implementation
Our hope is not in government, though it is a God-given institution ideally designed to ensure the well-being of the people. In many nations, the government is only as good as the one at the top. In the American system, our Founding Documents are above the individual whims of the one at the top. In effect, they are the king. The more we, the people, allow those in power to diminish the “king”, the faster this nation will crumble.
The more we, the people, agree to remove God from the chambers of government, schools, and public events, the faster the evil will accelerate—that will include mass shootings and other forms of violence.
The more we fail to raise our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, and the less and less parents model living in the fear of the Lord, the more we will see the savages arise in them and play out in society.
Implementation could be a sermon filled with exhortations. I will conclude with a simple assignment. Go to your bedroom, close the door, and stand before your biggest mirror and imagine you are standing before the God of the universe and repent. Now, resolve to become part of the solution by revisiting Duet 6:1-10 and devise a detailed plan for bringing your family into conformation—starting with you. Second, commit to reading/meditating on the Bible daily. Thirdly, get a copy of the Bill of Rights and the Constitution and review it carefully.