Future Voices

As I close my eyes and drift away to a land where there is love, health, peace, and blessings. I wanted to take the time to think and reflect.

   Just when you thought you have learned everything that you needed to know, you realize that there is more to know and learn. So what is one to do? Choose to learn more? Choose to make a meaningful contribution to society? Pursue one's interests? Or can anyone choose do all? This is exactly how I felt with the multiplicity of thoughts that bombarded me, thinking of what path to take, and how to use the tools of knowledge. But after hearing about another shooting in Santa Fe High School, Texas, I was left to question why. The answers were not there. Why do these school shootings continue to happen? Why are the killers students or young adults? It doesn't make sense. So to comfort the heart, I decided to read and learn more.

     I realized the complexity of guns in America. The fact is that the Second Amendment exists, which is the right to bear and keep arms legally. In other countries just as guns, drugs, or other harmful substances are obtained illegally, in America guns can also be purchased from a secondary market. These are not new devices, usually sold by previous owners, and either  end up, or purchased with the hands of teenagers. We see the consequence of guns getting in the wrong hands.

     The is also the influence of video / computer games that are instilling auto suggestive messages to the brain, eventually cause the actions. So here we can question - is there a link between the behaviour of school shooters and gamers? And also we can question if there are any similar patterns, as to how the gun shootings are occurring. Patterns can help to decipher a cause, as to why there is a an increased frequency in school shootings. Whilst these are necessary for the process of investigations, prevention, and the reduction of gun crime, we have to question is society, community, and family willing to bear the cost of school shootings?

     Gun violence in all forms bears a cost. But the case for school shootings differs, because there is a mass attack on the future. The future being the students in the school. Children represent the future. When lives are lost, there is an attack on the future.  It is the voices of the leaders, school leaders, teachers, educators, that in a sense are the protectors of the future voices. Similar to this pen, or my words that I write, which are an attempt to protect future voices. What happens when there is a gun attack? In an instant, the future is injured, lost, and the voices of the protectors are also sabotaged. With the senseless attacks the injury is born to the whole school, entire school population, community, and other school districts. Gun violence instills fear, and it is the acts that occur in one school, that increase the perception of risk in another, sending implicit messages that there is no safe place.    

    Now we can ask - how much is a community willing to pay to reduce the risk of gun violence? Initiatives for reduction, or prevention arrive at a cost. The cost eventually arrives at the hands of the tax payer. If we view human life as priceless, then the value set as priceless has to also be protected. But the irony is that there are costs involved, so there is a price to human life. For example: where a person lives, works, and attends school arrives at a cost. The cost differs according to where one lives, works, or attends school. The variation of cost also affects quality of life, and safety. Where one chooses to live is also a factor that protects the value of human life. Socio / economic status, or being rich or poor does have an impact on living standards, but gun violence reduces the quality of life for all Americans. Those who are involved, and those who are not. Psychological impact, and perceptions of fear affect American society as a whole. 

     The question that remains is what are the trade-offs involved in protecting and reducing gun crime, or is the protection of school security worth it? In my opinion I would argue yes. School shootings are an attack on children, who represent the future. To me this value is priceless regardless of socio / economic status. The  burden of school shootings  affects all of American society.

Recommendation: 
There is a recommendation that all new handguns incorporate a personalized chip that reads finger prints, so that the device is only accessible to the owner. This would be worth a try to prevent future misuse, however this measure would not eliminate illegal purchases or secondary markets (Cook & Ludwig, 2002).

A Note of Hope: It is true that gun violence and school shootings have a significant affect upon society as a whole, we can never replace the lives that are lost. But we ourselves must not fall prey to the perceptions of fear, and risk. Remind yourself, that your life is in the hands of God.

My thoughts to share with love & kindness. ​

​Notes: These thoughts were originally hand written on May 23rd, 2018. 

Reference:
Cook, P., & Ludwig, J. (2002). The Costs of Gun Violence against Children. The Future of Children, 12(2), 87-99. doi:10.2307/1602740

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