03-05-2008, 10:06 PM
Quote:In many ways I think the problem lies in the pandemic of purposelessness and the generations raised by the mantra of "If it feels good, do it." Ask most people, "Why are you here?" and the answer will be "To have fun." I'm not against fun mind you, but it is a pretty shallow reason to exist.
There is no way you are going to get me into the gun control section of this debate, but I will comment on this.
I think this sentiment reflects much of the cultural conservative position in a lot of areas of concern. (which isn't to shove you under that description.) and i think that in many ways it overlooks many of the real social and cultural issues that have developed over the last 30-40 years which are creating some of the problems we are seeing.
Other people have noted that if a person wants to kill or harm another they can do it despite things like weapon control or they time they are alive. We had just as many homicidal loons 50 years ago as we do now, the big difference now is that with the information we have access to and the changes in the way news is delivered sensationalism is much more powerful.
The other item i will bring up, which is sort of my go to position for any debate about societal problems, is that we (as a country and as a species) have a serious problem with population increases and control which will only increase exponentially. There are too many people, and this creates a situation where many of these "loons" are able to slip through the cracks and not be noticed by all the people and insititutions that under different circumstances would most likely be able to take action before the damage is done. When columbine happened everyone across the country asked "how could these kids do this without anyone noticing" and the answer is that as the population grows out of control we are seeing a greater aspect of annonymity in areas of community and even family which we didn't have 50-100 years ago. Thus those connections which can keep people in check are thinning making it much more easier for people that are predisposed to antisocial behavior to go unnoticed.