As we discuss the latest school
shooting in the United States, I am compelled to share my thoughts. I have been
in public education for over 26 years. My career precedes Columbine. Since
Columbine, the United States has endured 25 school shootings. Before we have
time to grieve or bury the dead, the political pundits advocate for their side
of the aisle. The national discussion about school safety has no singular cause
or solution. Reasonable gun control, addressing the mental health needs of
society, and acknowledging we have lost our faith are pillars of this debate.
I am a believer in the 2nd
amendment. My personal gun safe has several handguns, shot guns, and hunting
rifles. I am not anti-gun. That being stated, our freedoms are not unlimited.
Our latest school shooter could not legally purchase a 6 pack of beer, but
could legally purchase an assault rifle. The government is within its right to
regulate the sales of weapons. According to a February poll conducted by
Quinnipiac, support for universal
background checks is itself almost universal, 97 - 2 percent, including 97 - 3
percent among gun owners. It also makes sense to delay purchases of
all guns until 21. A younger individual would not be precluded from possessing
or utilizing the weapon. The individual would be precluded from purchasing the
weapon.
According to the Washington Post,
the United States spends over $100 billion on mental health treatment. That
works out to about 5.6 percent of the national health-care spending. Mental health dollars
mostly go toward prescription drugs and outpatient treatment. States cut $1.8 billion
from their mental health budgets during the recession. As we have cut our
mental health dollars, services, and institutions more of our mentally ill end
up in prison. The departments of corrections are ill-equipped and not designed
to treat mental illness. We may profess otherwise but the primary purpose of
prison is to warehouse those individuals who have broken the norms of society.
We must also
acknowledge that the United States is now a secular country. In short, we have
lost our faith. God was officially removed from schools in the early 1960s. In the Engel v. Vitale
case in 1962, the U.S. Supreme Court made its first-ever decision on prayer
in public schools. This was the first in a series of cases in which the Supreme
Court of the United States used the establishment clause to eliminate religious
activities in schools. These activities were traditionally a part of public
school activities. It made its second in 1963—the Abington School District v. Schempp ruling,
which made the corporate reading of the Bible and recitation of the Lord's Prayer
unlawful in public schools. Although I understand that the government should
not endorse one religion, in this case Christianity, over another religion, I
believe the court went too far. Americans are promised a freedom of religion,
not a freedom from religion. Any religion, be it Judaism, Christianity, Hindu, Buddhism,
etc. provide a code of conduct. This moral code guides the believer. Certain
things are right. Certain things are wrong. Over the last half century, those
certainties and standards have been eroded.
Do you remember
when school was a sacred place? Do you remember when a teacher was
revered/respected? Would you have ever gone home and complained about the
actions of a teacher, that they were “mean” to you? Do you remember having your
“school clothes” as compared to your play clothes (fyi- we also had bed clothes
called pajamas and didn’t think to wear them to school)? In addition to the
erosion of the sanctity that was our place of worship and our God, the school
has become less ideal. Due to a change in societal attitude, we place the word
of a child at the same level as the word of an adult. We question and challenge
the role and authority of the teacher.
We have
devalued what it means to be an adult. People half my age have no problem
addressing me by my first name. All too often I have heard adults of my
generation, encourage the practice. We were raised to address adults with
appropriate courtesies. If we put minors on the same level as adults, why would
students not feel they are on the same level as teachers?
Let the
criticism begin. In today’s partisan society there is no room for compromise.
If I express a desire for background checks, the right will condemn me. If I
refuse to surrender my weapons, the left will condemn me. To say we have lost
our faith, this sinner may be condemned as a religious zealot. Regardless we
must understand that complex problems require serious solutions. No political
purity test will solve the problem Tip O’Neil and Ronald Reagan used to argue
during the day and eat dinner together at night. I ask us to acknowledge common
sense compromise. I ask us to treat our mentally ill rather than imprison them.
Finally, it is the duty of all believers to spread the word.
