Posted Apr 19, 2021 by Michael L. Brown

In the last few weeks, it seems as if, almost every day, there has been a mass shooting in America. That’s why this headline didn’t surprise me at all: “The US has reported at least 45 mass shootings in the last month.” Yet as tragic as this news is (and it is horrifically tragic), I don’t believe that guns are our biggest problem – and I write this as someone who is neither a gun owner nor a member of the NRA. Instead, I write this based on common sense.

For those of you who have followed my writings or radio broadcasts over the years, you know that I do not major on Second Amendment rights. They are simply not a focus of mine, regardless of their importance. And I have frequently decried the Christian call to prepare to take up arms against the government. (Most recently, see here.)

I’m also open to discussion as to what can be done to improve background checks. And I have no problem with people debating whether all types of guns should be made available to the general public. So, I’m not your typical “God and guns” conservative.

My point in writing this article is simply to state the obvious: we have always had guns in our country, but we have not always been this violent. And when there are streaks of extreme violence, we need to ask what is behind these spikes. Why now? Why these recent months? What’s causing this?

Some would point to an increase in mental health issues (which others would dispute).

Some would point to the absence of fathers in the homes (which others would again dispute).

A skeptical post on the Snopes website noted that, “In August 2019, as the topic of mass shootings again gripped the United States after back-to-back massacres, numerous pundits and social media users attempted to suss out the reason why such attacks keep happening. Some blamed gun-control laws and a rise in white supremacy, while others laid the blame on mental illnessvideo games, a lack of thoughts and prayersgay marriage, and fatherless households.”

I’ve even heard the opinion (aired on social media) that the Democrats are paying these shooters to pave the way for a crackdown on guns. (Are they paying the shooters to kill themselves too? Really!)

Whatever the specific cause, the fact remains that we have always had guns in our country, yet mass shootings were much rarer in our past.

Growing up in New York City and then Long Island, I was not around guns myself, nor were any of my friends hunters or gun users. But I’ve been to other parts of the country where colleagues tell me how they would bring their rifles to school, store them in a locker, and then afterwards go hunting. And without exception, their schools were without gun violence.

What, then, is the problem today? Why these tragic spikes?

I do believe there are larger cultural causes, such as fatherless homes, which inevitably lead to breakdowns later in life. And we certainly have a culture that feeds on violence, from TV to movies to video games and more. For many of us, watching violence, even extreme violence, has been our daily diet since childhood. That certainly will have a desensitizing effect.

But why the recent spikes in mass shootings? Aside from positing an increase in demonic activity, which is certainly something to consider, it seems that a major factor is that we are on edge as a country, partly because of the lockdowns, partly because of the divisions and tensions.

More and more Americans are pent up and agitated. More and more feel threatened and under attack. More and more feel angry and ready to lash out. More and more have lost income and live under constant pressure. And in an environment like this, it doesn’t take much for a conflict to erupt.

Soon enough, families are in mourning and shock as they hear the news that one of their loved ones has been murdered in cold blood. Or is being rushed to the hospital in critical condition.

Or perhaps they get the news that one of their loved ones is the shooter himself.

We are a nation on edge right now, getting angrier and more frustrated by the minute. And it seems that everything around us, from the news to the circumstances of daily life, is conspiring to make us angrier still.

Perhaps, while pundits debate what can be done to reduce these horrible tragedies, all of us who know the Lord can pray for His mercy to be poured out and for the root causes of our troubles to be revealed. And perhaps, for whatever it’s worth (and it is certainly worth something), all of us can do our best to be ambassadors of reconciliation and grace, offering hope and a better way of life.

That certainly cannot hurt, and perhaps, it might just help.

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Comments

czarpaul posted a comment · Apr 24, 2021
Hey Swkh310 think about this some of the WORST gun crime is in cities with the TOUGHEST gun laws. Laws don't seem to be stopping CRIMINALS from shooting people but do prevent SELF DEFENSE!
czarpaul posted a comment · Apr 24, 2021
Problem with your quoting that headline is statistically a mass shooting is 4 or more excluding the gunman. However most people would think about 10 or more for mass shooting so so many things get labeled mass shootings that truly aren't. YES they are terrible but the word mass is used to frighten people and get political leverage when truly it is not necessary. 4 people in one family shot could be a mass shooting statistical but most people would NOT call it that.
OT posted a comment · Apr 24, 2021
The cold emotionless and seemingly hard steady lockstep advocacy of protecting the 2nd amendment! Swkh310 Cleverly tugs on social heart strings as he ( it ) states “If the slaughter of kindergartners two weeks before Christmas” a strategic ploy ! Why not also include the slaughter of innocent Jews who could not rise up and protect themselves as history has showed how a group of people were conditioned to participate in and be rounded up and lead to the of “slaughter of 6 million people ! Who were unarmed! Swkh310 All the more reason to hold fast to the 2nd Amendment that says “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
OT posted a comment · Apr 24, 2021
___________________________ The failure lies with Newtown Adam Lanza’s needs went untreated. It is now known in a report - The Connecticut Office of the Child Advocate released its report on the Sandy Hook shooting. We saw Newtown ignore evidence that he (Adam Lanza) was a troubled, violent youth, who required intensive therapeutic support; instead Newtown pushed him through the system as quickly as possible. Adam Lanza’s needs went untreated. Swkh310 You like all your left leaning bed fellow Democrats think that gun control will stop all gun violence! La la thinking ! Newtown failed all those kindergarten children! Not the second amendment! Tragedies make for good ideological cover to get what you want! To bring about The crush of socialism ! As long as there are guns in every Americans possession! That makes the you very afraid and the cost to high! ___________________________ Parts of the above gleaned from an op-Ed from https://www.google.com/amp/s/ctmirror.org/2014/12/09/op-ed-the-sandy-hook-failure/amp/
Swkh310 posted a comment · Apr 22, 2021
If the slaughter of kindergartners two weeks before Christmas didn’t change our laws and policies regarding guns, nothing ever will.
OT posted a comment · Apr 20, 2021
McClain fired back on Twitter, saying that as "that woman," she would not "apologize for calling out the double standards" Pelosi has "set." ___________________________________________________________________________ Pelosi has no standard and she cannot recognize a double standard! oh she see's it ! she won't admit it ! truth is not in her, she is an oligarch, she needs to go!
OT posted a comment · Apr 20, 2021
Dr. Brown please consider a up or down feature - thumbs up! - thumbs down! feature on your website ASK DR BROWN Please think about what it would add to the exchange on here! again Dr Brown thank you for your grounded commentary on current events and trending narratives - subjects and how it lines up with The Word! your common sense approach that is not always popular and draws Ire from left leaning commenters on https://askdrbrown.org/ Thank you
OT posted a comment · Apr 20, 2021
Turn Around Time on News is instantaneous! hence what you see is News engineering a reaction not a response! some call that incitement! freedom of the press should be veritas sadly it is not. The Media/News cares not about Veritas. Engineering a narrative is not News it is Fake News! We the people should insist on veritas. To whom do protections for news media apply in an era in which the Internet and social media platforms make everyone a potential publisher? as much as I distrust the news at least Fox News gives you the whole story! We report you decide - CNN not so much! CNN tells you what to believe ! and insults your right to your convictions ! they e·quiv·o·cate - intransitive verb. 1 : to use equivocal language especially with intent to deceive. 2 : to avoid committing oneself in what one says.- CNN
OT posted a comment · Apr 19, 2021
Maxine Waters’, D-Calif...... should be removed-impeached her words are dangerous trying to affect a jury! no surprise Pelosi defends Rep. Maxine Waters remarks “No, absolutely not,” Pelosi said in response to a question about whether Waters (D-Calif.) incited violence with her comments. bias her caucus can say what they like. Pelosi is a left of center divider that has no ethical compass. She is in it for herself, the democrat caucus! she is the equintessential polished professional politician with no ability to see people! plus she is worth 114 million she want for nothing. Trial judge says Waters may have jeopardized trial!giving defence attorneys cause for seeking mistrial!
OT posted a comment · Apr 19, 2021
I contend The internet, news media, and cable network news, social media are at the center, an irresponsible faceless driver of false outrage that has now been hijacked by nepherious groups that have agendas ! and as time passes it only escalates....people are afraid not of guns! but loosing their voice ! rights and freedoms that is afforded them by the Constitution ! free speech, threatened by the people who pledge to uphold and defend it! washington so called educated elite! deep state