Murders, Violence, and The Code

An NFL player gets mad, shoots his girlfriend and himself.  A young man is upset for some reason, shoots his mother, six teachers and 20 young kids.  Most Americans say to themselves something like, “That’s terrible.  He must have been crazy.  I would never do that.”  Here’s a sobering fact: in the USA the number of murders per 100,000 people is about 5.  In Europe it is about 1.  The issue we are raising is a culture of violence that exists in this country.  It is not caused by the Second Amendment (which give people the right to buy guns).  This is not a political issue.  The issue is that for some reason, we, as a people, seem to think that violence is a way to solve problems.  Why is this?  Why do Americans resort to fists, knives or guns as a way to settle problems?  There is no easy answer to this question, but we raise it because we must face it together as a people.  Unless a person is over 60 years old, he or she will have no real memory of Dr. Martin Luther King.  The most fundamental core belief that he held was that violence was not the way to solve problems.  The non-violence he preached, lived, and taught was ridiculed by many as “unrealistic.”  But he changed the country.  The great moral force of his life has been lost because no one has picked up his banner.  He is remembered for what he accomplished, rather than how he accomplished it.  Anyone who resorts to violence – or is willing to resort to violence as an option – dishonors his life.  The Code for Living calls upon us to be role models for others.  What does this mean for you?  How can you become a role model in raising this terribly challenging issue?