LIVING WITH VIOLENCE

 

“America is, by far, the most violent country in the world, when measured against comparable industrialized nations.”

This statement contained in the 2007-2008 Annual Report by Edmund R. Brown, Jr. California’s then Attorney General, accurately crystallizes the true status of violence in America. He continued to further explain his conclusion in the following manner:

“Violence is deeply rooted in our society and has become woven into the fabric of the American lifestyle. A culture of violence has emerged that invades our lives at every level, from our most intimate relationships at home, to all our schools and work environments.”

Indeed, compared with the other advanced countries of the world, America has the highest rate of prison incarcerations, with more   than 2 million prisoners in the prisons at any time. This is a number that equates to more than quarter of the world’s prison population. In addition, the country has consistently reported the highest per capita homicide rates in the industrialized world, without any exception. Even of more concern is the fact that more people of all ages possess more forms of military-style weapons for “self-protection” than all the rest of the world’s population put together. By any socially accepted yardstick this phenomenon seems to be a truly American obsession, and to quote the words of H. R. Schiffman, an American psychologist:

“Violence is as American as Apple-pie.”

The last 50 years has seen profound cultural changes taking place throughout our society which have affected our attitudes, our expectations and our behavior. Not only have we seen a steady, progressive breakdown of the once sacrosanct family unit, but there is a systemic degradation of the fundamental value of life as well. And compounding these changes there has occurred a steady increase of abandonment of conventional parental responsibilities, and a parallel increase of antisocial behavior among the young. This milieu has resulted in projecting an aura of violence in our society and concomitant fear within us. This increased awareness of violence around us has forced us to change the way we live in our homes, our workplaces and our neighborhoods in more and more areas of our cities. It has made us feel like prisoners in our homes, often afraid to venture out alone.

The increase in gang formation and activities, the drug violence, the drive-by shootings, daylight muggings and the indiscriminate personal attacks occurring with painful regularity has deeply altered the dynamics, so that no one can feel immune from these incidences of violent behavior. They continue to grow in strength and regularity at a faster pace. No one can forget the catastrophic event that occurred recently, in a Parkland, Florida high school, when a disgruntled 19 year old ex-student walked in and callously murdered 17 and injured 16 people in a 61/2 minute outburst of violence. This was just another example of what has become a increasingly common event. Is it any surprise therefore, that some of the fastest growing industries in this country are private security and weapons?

 The late great Roman Catholic Pope John Paul 11 in his unique inimitable way, described the effect of violence in communities when he said:

“Violence is a crime against humanity, for it destroys the very fabric of humanity.”

Although we publicly lament the existence of violence in our cities, within our society, and in our schools, we ourselves, continue to be guilty of sending mixed and confusing messages to our children and to the world. By encouraging wanton violence on our TV screens and in our cinemas, by highlighting and openly encouraging violence in sport and entertainment and on the playing field, and by not objecting to the increasing violence in the video games and arcades easily available to our children, we are in fact encouraging them to think that this type of behavior is acceptable. Further by making and endorsing heroes of crooks and criminals, we are succeeding in indoctrinating our children that violence in society with totally wrong standards. And even worse, by our silence in the face of public pressure from politicians and from organizations with vested interests such as the NRA, we compound this abomination. For all of this has the effect of encouraging us and our children to think that violence is a reasonable and acceptable alternative. So many of our politicians, especially the large numbers who enjoy direct support from these interests, are choosing to close their eyes rather than see the truth and risk loss of the “perks” they enjoy. Is it any surprise that we find ourselves losing the battle to curb violence?

Even our media, by their eagerness and insistence in reporting all the gory details of violent incidents, contribute to the glorification of violence as a means of achieving solution. By their endless reporting of incidents, repeated over and over, they succeed in persuading people, at the subconscious level at least, that such behavior is acceptable, thus making the next action easier to contemplate. Very rarely is an effort made to register the public abhorrence of the behavior and their genuine resentment of the perpetrators. In fact, in the name of “good journalism” they should search out negative sources and give equal exposure; The shameful attempts by some politicians, reporters and members of the NRA to mute the outcry by discrediting the many young survivors of the Parkland massacre and launching personal attacks on their characters is a glaring and insulting example that has as yet not been effectively challenged.

Society, while recognizing that the perpetrator needs help, must not lose sight of it’s responsibility to punish the action, protect the victims and above all, to take the necessary steps to correct the underlying causes. The recent outbreak of violence between the police and some black communities is no different both in the outcome or management. Clearly we can not begin to deal with the problems until some consistent, rational attitudes are adopted. Edward Bond, the well respected English playwright and dramatist, was more direct in placing the blame when he wrote:

“Violence shapes and obsesses our society, and if we do not stop being violent we have no future.”

Tragically we, as individuals and as a society, have yet to learn any lessons from the violent actions around us. We continue to witness horrific examples of grossly abnormal behavior among our young people such as the Columbine and Parkland school killings, the Orlando and Las Vegas massacres, the vicious and brutal attacks on the homeless and the gang-like acts of rape and brutality such as publicly setting a boy on fire for enjoyment. Though occurring in different areas and under different circumstances, these and the thousands of others taking place daily, appear to have one constant ending; the progressive disintegration of society’s responsibilities and lowering standards of behavior. Nathan Kalmoe, an assistant professor of political science at Monmouth College, writing in the Washington Post, pointed to one of the major factors that serve to propagate this dilemma when he noted:

“Political leaders, pundits and citizens regularly demonize opponents and emphasize the righteousness of their own goals.”

Indeed, nothing has contributed to the continued growth and rapid exfoliation of this curse in our society as this single observation.

But violence is not a disease, that can be passed on from person to person and it cannot be treated by simply administering a quick fix. Violence is a reflection of the society and represents the worse aspects of the prevailing attitudes within the society. As I see it today, even in the midst of so much advancement in the quality and opportunity in our lives, our society has become too indifferent, too immune to its responsibility towards maintaining the quality and consistency needed to ensure the right standards. We cannot expect our children to do otherwise when we ourselves abandon our own principles. By our continuing to, directly and indirectly, glorify violence, by ignoring the needs of our children, by abandoning our family responsibilities, by spending more time away from the home, we are in fact reinforcing the worst aspects in ourselves. When we add to this, the scourge of easy accessibility of drugs, reduced controls in the schools, increasing domestic violence and marital breakdowns, and so many other social problems, one should not be surprised that there is an epidemic of violence affecting all of us.

And yet the answers to preventing this escalation of violence can be simple and effective if we take the time to recognize the causes and make the effort to correct them. As a society, we need to reconsider how we glorify violence in all its forms, most especially in the fields of entertainment, sports and video games. We must learn to abandon our silence and forcefully challenge those who are intent to further their own agenda, by the energetic and determined exercise of our legal rights. Equally we must take time to be parents again, to provide quality time to our children, to encourage them away from the present exposure with their many negative contacts, and to provide positive opportunities for growth. To achieve this we need to change drastically from our present direction; something so far, we appear unwilling to do. Professor Gerald Vanderhaar, a retired American-born Professor-emeritus of Religion, and a leading advocate in the American non-violent movement effectively summarized this situation in the following manner:

“We challenge the culture of violence when we ourselves act in the certainty that violence is no longer acceptable, that it’s tired and outdated, no matter if others cling to it in the stubborn belief that it still works and it is still valid.”

Unfortunately so many of us, as individuals and as a society, still do not have the courage or the desire to do what must be done to stem this vicious tide creeping up on us.  We have yet to see and to accept, the real truth of the statement made by the noted American author, Mary McCarthy:

“In violence we forget who we are”

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