More Random Violence: Are People Getting Worse? What Should We Do About It?

When I read a story like this -- a man charges into a one-room Amish schoolhouse in Pennsylvania, orders teachers and boys to leave, ties up girls aged 6 to 11 and starts shooting them in the head -- and then add it to all the other recent stories of women being attacked and sometimes killed for their fetuses or babies -- it makes me wonder whether people are getting worse.  It is difficult to imagine such a degree of evil.

Are People Getting Worse?

To be sure, evils of every stripe have been committed throughout human history.  And yet I wonder whether the increasing anonymity of daily life, combined with our highly secularized world -- one that largely forbids any discussion of religion in all public schools and most workplaces -- could be contributing to this appalling degree of depravity among some individuals.

Anonymity is a factor too.  With America's population about to reach 300 million, it is easy to get lost in a crowd.  It's even easier to stop caring very much about the well-being of the people around you.

There may be other factors as well.  In this age of instant global communication, few acts of extreme violence escape the wide net of the news.  If ignorance was ever bliss, those days are gone. 

Instant communication also may be leading to more copycat crimes.  It is odd, and perhaps not coincidental, that this attack on Amish girls follows within less than a week the hostage taking of girls and killing of one of them in Colorado on September 27, 2006.  One man "lowers the bar" for behavior -- attacking and killing school girls only -- and another man follows within a week.

But when it comes to the question of whether people are getting worse, perhaps it would be more productive to change the question.  Whether or not people are getting worse, what to do about it?

We Need More Religious Training

Religious training is one partial solution.  We don't need to turn public schools into Bible study classes, but God should at least be mentioned in the classroom and workplace from time to time.  God is mentioned on our currency; he certainly should not be ignored completely throughout the school day. 

The world's major religions encourage and even require one to acknowledge a higher power than one's own immediate gratification.  If they are any good, religions also inspire people to decent behavior.  The total blackout on even mentioning religion in schools leaves kids in a moral vacuum and has the potential to undermine the religious training children receive elsewhere.

Starting in elementary school, children should receive at least a few hours of training about the fundamental beliefs of most of the world's major religions, with more emphasis put on the religions that are most widely observed in the country and in the world at the time.  If 80% of Americans are Christian, then Christianity should get at least a little more emphasis than Judaism or Islam, each of which is observed by less than 1% of Americans.  Schools don't need to teach religion as such, but "God" should not be a forbidden word and prayer should not be reserved for the moment when a pop quiz is announced or the aftermath of a school shooting.

Parents also need to make sure that their children attend Sunday school or other appropriate religious education.  Kids need to be reminded at least once a week, and preferably several times a day, that there is a power higher than themselves and that being a decent person matters. 

We Need Character Education in Schools

Another partial solution is secular character and values education in all schools.  Some schools, my daughter's included, are putting greater emphasis on character education, making it a part of their curriculum.  That certainly cannot hurt and may help. 

If your school does not have a basic values curriculum such as a teaching of the "six pillars of character" starting in the early years of school, ask why not and urge that such training be integrated into the curriculum.  It need not cost anything, nor need it take any time from the core curriculum.  Children learning to write need topics anyway.  One such topic can be to write about how they demonstrate one of the traits of good character.  Children learning history can find a famous character and learn what was admirable about them.  The opportunities are endless; they should be grasped.

The Killers: Study, Medicate, Lock Up

There may be other factors too.  We need to closely at look at the killers, unpleasant though that may be.  What, besides a lack of adequate character training, brought them to the level of depravity at which they were willing to harm and kill other human beings without mercy?  As adults, were they treated too leniently by the criminal justice system or the mental health system?  If we are not locking people up where they belong, or not locking them up long enough, it's time to get more serious.

We Need Defensive Weapons in Schools

Given this pattern that is developing of attacks on schools, I believe it is time to make sure that every school has at least two on-campus security officers, principals, or teachers with access to a locked up, but loaded, weapon.  Those individuals should be carefully screened and rechecked annually to make sure that they are not themselves mentally unbalanced, depressed, or of questionable judgment, and they must be trained to make sure that they can use their weapon effectively if needed.  This would also provide protection in event of a terrorist attack on a school like that which happened in Beslan, Russia.

The availability of 911 calls and local police officers is not an adequate substitute.  As this Amish school shooting demonstrates, too many can be killed before off-campus help arrives.

Scoff if you wish, or raise questions about how to ensure that a firearm isn't used inappropriately or doesn't fall into the wrong hands -- but the fact that schools are known to be weapon-free zones is surely a factor in this developing pattern of violence targeting children and teachers.  By definition, anybody who preys on schoolchildren is looking for an easy target. 

Who Is Ultimately Responsible -- And What We Must Do

We will never prevent every act of violence, nor does the responsibility lie primarily with us to do so.  The person who does evil is the one responsible for that evil, and nobody should fall into the trap of blaming "society" or the government first when something like this happens.

That being said, for our own mutual protection, we should take another look at what we can do to make this kind of violence less likely to happen or less likely to succeed when it does happen.  If we can address these questions wisely and well and make some course corrections, we will save innocent lives. 

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Comments

[Penny]

To answer your question, "are people getting worse?"
Yes, of course they are and it's little wonder, given the reckless and irresponsible way your leader goes around the world declaring war on whole nations and killing tens of thousands of innocent civilians, in an attempt to even up an attrocity caused by a relatively small number of terrorists five years ago.

You say that God should be mentioned in schools at least once a day. Do you have any idea how many millions of human beings have been killed and continue to be killed in God's name?

Yes, people are getting worse and will continue to do so until your leaders look to their God to find reasons not to kill others, just because you happen to be the most powerful nation militarily on the planet, instead of using God as an excuse to wage war.

Peace

Penny

[Gina Cobb]

Penny, I am surprised by your remark. I had no IDEA that George Bush was responsible for a man shooting Amish school girls! Is there no END to this president's treachery?

My goodness, it's almost as if George Bush is omnipotent. He has singehandedly brought about all civilian deaths in the war on terror, inspired terrorism around the world, incited every act of violence in America, warmed the planet, caused hurricanes, starved the world's poor, and killed "tens of thousands" of innocent civilians. Wow. In just six short years.

There is one little fact about the Amish shooting I haven't figured out yet. The shooter told his wife he was "avenging" something that happened 20 years ago. Hmmmm . . . . I'm STILL certain that GEORGE BUSH is SOMEHOW responsible.

IF ONLY we had a world in which every nation responded to terrorist attacks that kill thousands of their men, women and children with PEACE. We should all just gently ACCEPT mass murders of our people, hijacking of our airplanes, destruction of our office towers, direct attacks on our Pentagon, and attempts to destroy our Capitol. If we do that, EVENTUALLY, MAYBE the terrorists will get tired of slaughtering our people and destroying everything we hold dear and just . . . GO AWAY.

Hey, don't laugh. It could happen!

Maybe even while a few of us are still left alive. Hopefully.

And then Amish school girls will be safe. Hopefully.

[Tim]

Bible study? YOu know thats one of the biggest sources of violence in the world. We need less bible study and religious mania of all kinds. Almost all fights in the world are based on it and everyone thinks they are right.

If one needs a god to surrender too than they are just weak. I do not need a god to not violate my fellow man. If you do than you have problem in my opinion.

Its funny how you can see other peoples problems yet your own believes you cannot see the fault in.

[Gina Cobb]

Tim, I wish you well on your personal journey. You may find that over time your ideas change, particularly if you continue to stay engaged and listen to all points of view.

Try visiting a Christian chapel or church sometime soon. Don't wait too long. I think you'll find that your idea that churches, at least, foster violence is not accurate.

I visited at a new chapel a week or two ago, for example, that distributes food to the poor, runs great children's programs, and helps people find meaning and peace through excellent sermons and classes. That church is not fostering any violence; quite the opposite.

In the U.S., some churches have a more conservative feel to them and some are more on the left. Try one on the left, or one that seems apolitical. I'll bet if you really give it a try you'll thank me five years from now. If you attend church regularly and gradually get to know people, within a little while you'll have an incredible sense of community from other positive-minded people who wish you well and who will even lend you hand when you need it.

Do you have a consistent, positive goodwill from the people who are currently your friends? Are they, in turn, kind and supportive of others? Do you and you friends give regularly and generously to help the poor? Before you tear down Christianity, take a look at your circle of friends and consider if all is as it should be. If it is, then you may have hit upon an excellent group of friends, and you should do all you can to keep those positive friendships going. But if most of your friends struggle with negativity, cynicism, addictions, joblessness, or other problems, maybe a change in friends is worth a look.

Now some madrassas and mosques in the world do foster violence. They teach observant Muslims to kill. Any religion like that is a cancer on the world.

There are also peaceful Muslims living around the world, especially in Western democracies where Christians dominate. I don't begrudge anyone their right to worship as they best understand, as long as they don't deliberately harm or kill other human beings.

Another option, if you can't possibly envision yourself going to church, is to try joining a 12-step program. There are many different kinds. You'll find a supportive community and a general willingness to acknowledge the existence of a higher power. Even if the only higher power you can acknowledge at this time is the group itself or your inner conscience, that's OK. You'll be welcome.

Yes, I am trying to get you to take another look at religion and spirituality, because as matters stand you're missing out on something wonderful and you don't even know it.

Good luck to you, my friend.