"Ask an impertinent question, and you're on your way to a pertinent answer." —Jacob Bronowski, The Ascent of Man
As of October 2015, my goal for this blog is to ask 101 impertinent questions.

Monday, December 16, 2013

Is A Culture of Guns the Answer?

This article from Concealed Nation is seductive. Yes, we want our children to be protected. And without trivializing the violence done to the lovely Arapahoe High student Claire Davis and her family, we are all thankful to those who ended the shooter's rampage before more lives were damaged. However, is the answer to this epidemic of violence to promote a culture of guns? Any weapon can become or be perceived as a form of bullying and therefore encourage more weapons. After a career in teaching, I don't believe for a second that any shooter just snaps or that no one was aware of his precarious mental state. My experiences as a teacher also convinced me that we would likely get more bang for the buck if all the money spent on assault weapons, hand guns, and training police forces to respond to mass shootings were spent on the development of mental health programs and the development of an engaging and creative problem-solving curriculum to replace the culture of popularity, competition, and measurable objectives that now permeates our education system. And imagine what might happen if all the money and power that goes into promoting the gun lobby's agenda were used to encourage our politicians to give all of our children the education they deserve and to create a jobs program aimed at putting Americans back to work and eliminating the growing income disparity throughout our country. It's just a thought in this season of peace and goodwill.