Newtown has left me heartbroken and in despair. I cannot imagine what it is like for the families involved.
We live in a country/society that is divided, angry and somewhat fearful. We have a branch of media that fuels this division, anger and fear. We have social media which, among many good things, has also served to further isolate people in that it has largely erased the need for civility. The Marketplace of Ideas has become a public brawl. We have an entertainment media that sometimes glorifies violence in horrific ways but then portrays gun violence in ways that are not real. For many people guns have become a video game. You can get a free assassin app for your iPhone. We have people who become confused and angry and in the process sometimes confuse what’s real and possible with what they imagine and fantasize. Add to this, family situations which should be the safest of safe places that become boiling anger pots. Add to this the public mental health care in our country that ranges from inadequate to non-existent, especially at the middle school and high school level, where problems might best be identified and help administered. Add to this the wide and easy availability of guns, which, regardless if one is pro-gun or anti-gun, is a fact. Add to this that as a society we’ve slid from pretty solid Judeo-Christian roots to Judeo-Christian lite; if at all.
All these things in and of themselves might be manageable. But add to everything the presence of demonic, evil forces prowling the Earth, seeking someone to devour, and the equation changes. You won’t likely hear this through many media outlets. But it’s a Biblical truth.
It’s that combination, I fear, that leads to Connecticut, leaving behind horror and heartache.
The Outdoor Notebook 