How Many More Must Die?

This post is not about writing or technology or social media or anything else I typically blog about.  It is about us and our society.  America and the people who live it in.  And my one question is: how many more must die before we learn to live together without killing each other senselessly?

In my lifetime, the number of national tragedies that have played across the national stage is greater than at any other time in our history.  I suppose part of the reason for that is the mass communication we now have. But it is more than that.

Americans have always needed to be violent; shooting and killing was how the frontier was settled. But the frontier is gone now and we need to stop shooting -- especially when the urge is to shoot our fellow citizens.

That won't be easy.  Human nature can be extreme and violent; God, I have my own demons with which I wrestle; I have moments -- like everyone else -- when I want to lash out because I am angry, but I don't act on them. Similarly, we need to find a way to deal with whatever it is that drives people to kill others.  After all, we have enough people outside our country who want to kill us, do we have fight with each other too?

And it is not as if the answer on how resolve differences is news. We have laws for this and when that is insufficient, we have the right to peaceful assemble and protest, to make our voices heard to our government so that new laws can be enacted.  That is the American way.

If you feel you need to go further, passive resistance is also an option.  But under no circumstances should you kill another person.  Never. I don't care if you don't kill the other person's politics or religion or sexual preference or ethnic background. And if you are just plain anger, go work it off at the gym or tennis court please and spare the lives of innocent people.

So what will it be?  How do we stop the killings and the madness?  How many more must die before we can love our neighbors?

I don't know, but I hope it is soon.