Collateral Damage

I am still trying to wrap my arms around the tragic turn of events that occurred in Newtown, CT on Friday.  When I first learned of a shooting in Connecticut, all I heard was about one person being killed and two or three being injured.  So why, I asked myself, is that such a big deal?  People get shot all the time.  In the early afternoon, I received a call from our best friend, asking if Pam was following the Connecticut shootings.  I didn't know, because she had been napping.  The phone call, however, woke Pam and she came to the end of the house I was in, and said she had not been following it.  A few minutes later I was in the bedroom where the TV was on and it was then that I learned of the extent of the shootings and was shocked to learn of the number of children who had been slain.

My first thought, of course, was of deep sorrow at the loss of so many innocents.  My shock and sorrow turned to anger at whoever had done this deed.  I figured it was probably some deranged young man--something just about all mass murderers seem to have in common.  Of course, the pro-gun advocates had some culpability, without a doubt.  However, as more and more facts are uncovered, it is becoming evident that the young man who did this mass murder had some type of mental problem.  Why his mother, who was apparently aware of his emotional problems, chose to have so many guns (legally purchased) in her house is a question that will never be answered.

While we here in America are shocked and stunned at such an occurrance, I can't help but remind folks that other mass murders happen quite often at the hands of us all.  Not in Sandy Hook, or Aurora, or Virginia Tech, or Columbine.  NO!  It happens in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and quite possibly other countries because of the drone strikes operated by the Department of War in the name of freedom.  While members of the Taliban and Al Qaeda are the targets, all too often they are supposedly hiding in houses in residential area of various towns and cities.  If the military is lucky, they may succeed and kill one of their targets.  But, beyond the targeted individuals, innocent civilians including women and children are also killed.  The military simply refers to these unfortunate souls as "collateral damage" and simply washes its hands of responsibility.

In Sandy Hook, we had a young man who apparently was mentally disturbed; who snapped; committed matricide; and further took out his anger on those who meant the most to his mother--the young children she loved and wanted to help.  Why was this man allowed to go about as a wolf in sheep's clothing?  Why was he not referred for psychological counselling and possible treatment? Maybe he was.  I don't know.  I don't know if he was on or off any prescribed medications, but one thing is clear--he obviously needed help.  If anything, the 26 students and adults who lost their lives at Sandy Hook Elementary School were also collateral damage--collateral damage that resulted from a mental health system that prefers to pump pills down the throats of way too many unbalanced people and leave them to fend for themselves in an increasingly cold and complex society.  Something must be done to give proper treatment to these poor persons, rather than turning our eyes away from them and think its not our concern.  THESE PEOPLE ARE OUR CONCERN!

May our national discourse include, not only gun control (the horse everyone seems to be riding), but also proper and adequate treatment of mental illness.  It appears, to this amateur at least, that the two subjects go hand in hand.  Until we address both, more of these instances will take place and more innocent lives will be lost.  The problem is not bad people who do bad things, but good people who sit around and do nothing.

In Support of a No-Texting While Driving Bill...

The following Letter to the Editor was published in both the Sarasota Herald Tribune and Bradenton Herald:

I applaud Nancy Detert for her action in submitting (once again!) a no texting while driving bill in the Florida legislature.  Florida is one of only seven states not to have enacted some sort of texting while driving ban. Why is Florida so far behind the curve?  

I understand some of our legislators are opposed to efforts to ban texting while driving because it infringes on a person’s right to do what they wish without governmental interference.  I’m sorry, but my right to feel safe while driving on Florida roadways trumps another’s right to text and possibly injure or kill me because they are not paying attention to their main job behind the wheel.  We ban drinking alcoholic beverages while driving.  Is a ban on texting while driving any different?  Both carry with them the possibility of injuring or killing an innocent person.

I really don’t like the fact that Ms. Detert has had to water down her bill from those previously submitted by making texting while driving a secondary offense.  In other words, a texter must first be stopped for a moving violation before he or she can be cited for texting while driving.  But, then, half a loaf is better than none.

Let’s make sure to contact our elected senators and representatives and let them know that we support the efforts to ban texting while driving and that such a ban should be a primary offense.

 

Dave Hilsheimer

Bradenton