Acts of violence

Every day the insanity of the world is spilled across the mass media and inundates the idle chatter of daily life. Now peace is a very serious subject to me but my experiences have built a very dark humour. Even though I work very diligently for peace there are some things that I must let go of.  For example, the most talked about subject of late concerns gun laws here in Canada and in the RUSA, due to the recent shootings in both countries.

In the RUSA the debate hinges upon constitutional rights to carry weapons. The hilarious part of that argument lies in the fact that the right to carry a weapon is an amendment, correction or a change to the original. Basically there was some patch work done on the original. Due to that you have to look at the context of when that patchwork was done. Then you have to ask if that repair is still valid or has it outlived its usefulness. The facts of the matter have produced one of the most violent societies in modern times. Add to that one of the most basic realities in peace theory which states that all weapons must be taken out of circulation so that the level of violence will decrease.  

However, the reality is that gun laws are not the issue because the shooting is being done by those that have no respect for such laws, nor do they care about the general safety of others. Producing more laws will change nothing, so the gun law debate is moot.

The major issue rests with the fact that such incidents were conducted with the ideology that no other viable option was present. This is a psychological matter on a community/social level as well as an individual level. The harsh reality is that such a level of violence may always be with us. This reality was made very clear last year in Norway. Also, such violence was the backbone of why Osama Bin Laden fought.

How do you deal with such violence?

In the case of the shooting in Norway, you have to understand that the people who conduct such acts usually have an understanding of holistic reality. They feel the connection of the individual within the context of the world society. For the most part this connection becomes too much for them to handle as they get overwhelmed with the vast expanse of such issues. When the mind becomes exasperated or overwhelmed a person has a tendency to lose all sense of control, which can and has resulted in outbursts of violence.

Such events are moments which show us how fragile peace is and how much work it is to maintain a peaceful society. Furthermore, such events should be moments of clarity for all of us to take responsibility for ensuring a peaceful society. As rudimentary as it seems the best tools are education, awareness, patience, accountability and a caring heart for others.

I admit that there is a very long road to travel for a society to collapse but it can also be traveled very fast. I do not have many answers but I do know what it is like to live in a society that is collapsing and has collapsed. Depending on how important a peaceful society is will determine how much effort or change the individual is willing to make. For most I trust that life will continue on as it has because peace takes a very long time to mature, especially when you are dealing with people.