The Picture of Our Violent Society

              Here is a picture of how the Vice President's committee needs to address the problem of violence recently brought to everyone's attention through the Newtown, Connecticut massacre. Unfortunately, all our problems boil down to politics (as opposed to common sense). Surely, there are things that can be done to address the causes of violence. We just have to get politics out of the way.

This drawing describes the areas that need to be addressed to minimize violence in our society. I say minimize because violence cannot be completely eliminated. However, the fact that violence cannot be completely solved does not mean that it should not be addressed in a meaningful manner. From my perspective, guns are the area where we could make the quickest progress. However, a comprehensive approach (as I lay out in my last post) is absolutely needed.

The areas of the picture that indicate a “Danger” zone could very well include violence. There are evil people in this world that do not require mental illness or guns to commit violence. However, to commit violence on the scale that has occurred all too frequently this year, guns and mental health must be factors.

So Mr. Vice President, this picture is for you. If you can eliminate the "Inaction" with "Solutions" you will have completed your task. With “Solutions” in the picture, the “Danger” can be replaced with ‘Warning – Take Action”. Mr. Vice President, we all are pulling for you to be successful.