It is too simplistic to blame Trump for the Texas and Ohio mass shootings. There were 14 mass shootings during the Obama's years before Trump.
Some of you want to blame guns. Which is not say we don't need stricter gun laws. But guns, powerful guns, have been around for a LONG LONG time and it has gotten HARDER to get guns, not easier. Plus gun ownership rates have gone down, not up in America.
There is something deeper and more troubling taking place in society. Simply blaming Trump doesn't solve the problem, it may even perpetuate it.
Have you heard of Jonathan Haidt? He is a prominent social psychologist with fascinating observations about trends that began around 2011-2013 in the USA.
I believe there is a connection between the mass shootings and the phenomenon J.Haidt writes about.
Haidt has a few books out which I have just started, motivated in part by recent events. But you can catch interviews and speeches of him on YouTude. Here is a link to one he did with Bill Maher.
One of Haidt's books is called "The Righteous Mind - Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion." The other is called "The Coddling of the American Mind - How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure."
Haidt shows what each side is right about, and why we need the insights of liberals, conservatives, and libertarians to flourish as a nation.
By the way, in my opinion, he makes a case for the problems of Partisanship that George Washington warned us about in his Farewell Letter. This subject is a central common theme of my posts. I strongly believe that our government has become dysfunctional because we have become terribly unsympathetic and are losing the willingness to compromise and work together for the "greater good." This goes hand-in-hand with declining attitudes about God and American Excellence.
Haidt also makes a case that intolerance of opposing viewpoints has left many young people anxious and unprepared for adult life, with devastating consequences for them, for their parents, for the companies that will soon hire them, and for a democracy that is already pushed to the brink of VIOLENCE over its growing political divisions.
Haidt is speaking of the generation which includes the two recent shooters - age 24 in Ohio and age 21 in El Paso.
There is something big going on. One of the reasons I defend Trump is because I think we are fooling ourselves when we think he IS the cause of so many of the problems. One can make a case for why he is contributing to the problem. By the same token one can make a case that he is contributing to the solution.
Blaming Trump is too easy. The issues run much deeper! Haidt and other prominent psychologists and sociologists, like Jordan Peterson are making important observations and we need to listen to them.
This is not to say that unacceptably easy access to powerful weapons isn't a needed change. As much as I am a deep supporter of the 2nd Amendment, I believe changes are woefully needed that would help prevent guns from getting into the hands of violent or disturbed young males, black and white.
IMPORTANT CONCLUSION!
What's the answer? Well, unfortunately it won't help for me to tell you. It only works if you figure it out for yourself. But I will leave you with this interview with John Haidt on Ted Talks. Try to watch this.
P.S. PLEASE READ - America Needs Mr. Rogers.
