Another mass shooting.  Another day of anger and opinions on social media.  Everyone has the answer and condemns anyone who disagrees with them.  And everyone’s answer is simple and one dimensional.  I don’t mean to insult anyone with that statement, but just stick with me for a minute while I flesh this out.  Here are some of the things I’ve seen and heard:

Take away all the guns

Get better mental health services

Better screening for buying guns

It’s the result of evil in the world

Send thoughts and prayers

We’re all searching for the thing that ties all of this together, the one thing we can stop and all of this will end because we all just want to fix it.  The problem is, we can’t tie this violence to just one thing, and in the meantime, we try harder to increase security, being reactive to each situation.  We’re also looking at these situations through our own eyes, with our own perceptions and our own experiences.  I’m not trying to dismiss this by any means, but it is what sometimes causes us to look at things in a one dimensional way.  Our way.

You know, somebody, somewhere saw this coming.  Maybe they didn’t WANT to see it coming and maybe they didn’t want to say something for fear of appearing to be an alarmist.  Maybe nobody bothered to check up on this guy after he was dishonorably discharged to make sure he was handling things well.  Was this anger?  Was it despair?  Was it insanity?  Is there anyone in our circle of friends and family who has isolated themselves or is acting differently?  Would you know if they were?  I mean, we live in a pretty shallow society, living through our devices.  Did anyone bother to check on him or talk to him?  Would it have mattered?

Everyone always says, he seemed so quiet, kept to himself, he was a nice guy.  Do they really know?  I don’t know about you, but I don’t really know all of my neighbors.  I don’t know what they all do.  I wouldn’t know if something was different or not.  That says more about me than them, doesn’t it?  Have I taken the time, stepped out of my comfort zone?  No, because I’m too wrapped up in my own life.  So, I trust that someone else will take care of things should something happen.

So, perhaps, instead of waiting for the government or someone else to do something about this, how are we as individuals being proactive about this?  Is there someone you know who is struggling?  Someone who needs you to spend some quality time talking with them, getting to know them?  My personal thought is that someone who commits this kind of violence has nothing to lose.  Maybe we should be giving them something they don’t want to lose.

So here are my personal thoughts on this, agree or disagree, but it comes from my personal perspective, right?  Taking away everyone’s guns is not the answer.  This type of violence is not going to be stopped because we take a weapon away.  Someone who is that angry, that insane, that driven, will find something.  Just think fertilizer.  Screening seems to be a proactive, sensible thing to do.  This would certainly make it harder to get a gun, however, people who really want to find a gun are going to be able to find it.  Getting better mental health services is a wonderful thing, but you have to get the person needing those services to go.  It’s too expensive for some and a lot of people who need the help don’t think they do.  This is where friends and families encouraging the person helps.  But, if this person has isolated themselves, can we really do anything?

Is this a result of evil in the world?  My faith tells me yes.  In this world, there are opposites.  Good and evil are an example of that.  And while I have rarely personally experienced true evil in the world, I see it and read it in the news every day.  And I see the good that can come out of it when people come together to help one another.  Isn’t it a shame that we don’t come together BEFORE something happens?

Thoughts and prayers.  Yes, both are important, and again, my faith tells me to pray without ceasing.  Some may feel that it is a waste of time, but I’ve seen God work in my life and in others through prayer.  Is prayer enough?  Well, I like to think that my God is powerful enough to do anything, but I also believe that he equips us to do the work as well.  Which is where we go back to being there for each other.  Being proactive, spending quality time with people, checking on them and not always assuming that everything is okay.  Saying something when you feel like you should.

All this to say that this is not as simple as finding THE solution.  It is a combination of things that need to be done, hopefully proactive rather than reactive.  But I feel that the most important thing needs to be more personal contact with as many people as we can.  And this includes me.  I need to make sure I take more time with my family and friends and see how they’re doing, have real conversations and being more sensitive to what they are feeling.  Maybe if more people feel that have someone to go to when they’re struggling, they won’t take it out on innocent people.