School shootings spiraling out of control
Jonah Losh, Staff Writer
Photo courtesy of Unsplash.com
Are school shootings an “American phenomenon?” Since 2013, there have been 287 shootings in American schools alone. In only the first month of 2018, the US had already passed the average of school shootings from 2000-2013 (11 annually). “So yes, they are uniquely American,” said Robert Gaddis, a psychology professor of North Greenville University.
Many point to the statistics and preach that increased gun control would decrease school shootings. While this could have an effect on the numbers, it would not solve the problem. It’s not that simple.
Why has the rate of school shootings exploded in the last five years?
“We have the perfect formula,” Gaddis says. Compared to the rest of the world, America has over six times as many firearm homicides as Canada, states a Vox article. And in just the first 23 days of 2018, the US had already seen 11 school shootings.
Gaddis offers an answer: “It is a biopsychosocial issue, and we have the perfect formula.”
Traditional American family values are on the decline, represented by a greater emphasis on society’s role in raising children versus the traditional, biblical family structure. Cohabitation and extramarital sex are increasing dramatically (a 2010 report said that 40 percent of American babies were born to unmarried women), seeming to have an adverse effect on how young people view relationships and therefore other people. As morality decreases, often people begin to view others as disposable “things” instead of valuable human lives—and you can express pain and emotion on things.
“We speak about things such as ‘freedom,’ ‘equality,’ ‘courage,’ ‘respect,’ and ‘responsibility,’ but these are no longer anchored to a commonly-held view of human nature and reality [that were upheld when America was younger]. As a result, we have a difficult time rationally promoting these morals and values, and we have almost no way of settling differences about their meanings,” believes twentieth century philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre. If America has truly lost context for these critical words of life and hope, then America is no longer the moral standard for the world.
American society has recently seen a dramatic increase in violence and gore. One can see it in our local theaters and on the latest drama TV shows. Since 1985, a study shows 94 percent of popular movies have at least one violent scene; at the same time, gun violence in films tripled.
Even in the news, Gaddis stated, “we have created a model of copycat suicide.”
Troubled people see traumatic events online or in the news—like the 2017 Vegas shooting—and are “inspired” by the fact that, if they follow the precedent, they will also get glorified and talked about when they die. It is Western kamikaze suicide.
Finally, America is one of the few countries in the world that has the right to bear arms protected in its constitution. With the stigmas of mental health issues, and the lack of gun control…
“It’s a wonder it doesn’t happen more often,” said Gaddis.
The American phenomenon is a heartbreaking fact that marks the beginning of a new era of a society that is “biopsychosocially troubled.” The tragically perfect formula has been realized in modern America.
