Posted 10:18 pm Sunday, December 23, 2012
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Readers reflect on Newtown, Connecticut school shootings
The unspeakable massacre in Newtown, Conn. is just beyond understanding.
Most mentally challenged people need to be put on medication to help them live a more useful life, but keeping them on this medication is sometime very difficult.
Family members and friends who have experienced this with a loved one know the struggle they go through. Now our government is going to cut the funding for mental illnesses. So who do we blame when there are not enough services for these people?
What is the answer to resolving how we should respond? I firmly believe that there are a lot of video games, and other media that contain violence. People are being desensitized through these games, movies and television shows. Young people are very susceptible to being pre-programmed by what they see.
We as parents and grandparents need to be vigilant. We are the ones who need to select what our children are filling their minds with, and hopefully our guidance will help to prevent some of these tragedies in the future.
J. Wood
Tyler
Most mentally challenged people need to be put on medication to help them live a more useful life, but keeping them on this medication is sometime very difficult.
Family members and friends who have experienced this with a loved one know the struggle they go through. Now our government is going to cut the funding for mental illnesses. So who do we blame when there are not enough services for these people?
What is the answer to resolving how we should respond? I firmly believe that there are a lot of video games, and other media that contain violence. People are being desensitized through these games, movies and television shows. Young people are very susceptible to being pre-programmed by what they see.
We as parents and grandparents need to be vigilant. We are the ones who need to select what our children are filling their minds with, and hopefully our guidance will help to prevent some of these tragedies in the future.
J. Wood
Tyler
WRONG RESPONSE
Predictably, before the children in the Newtown massacre had been laid to rest, the Democrats began beating the drum for more gun control. Since this discussion will inevitably take place, there are several things we should remember.
The Second Amendment is not about hunting. Our Founders put this in our Bill of Rights ensure the people had the wherewithal to resist a tyrannical government. Remember, they had just fought a long and bloody war to overthrow a tyrannical King George.
But the Democrats have been trying to disarm the American people for years.
And as his chief of staff said early in his first year, President Obama’s governing mantra of, “don’t let a good crisis go to waste” causes me great concern.
The shooter’s mother knew her son was troubled. One would think, under these circumstances, she would have secured her guns under lock and key to prevent him from having access to them.
In the sadness and emotion of the moment, let’s not throw out the baby with the bath water. The availability of guns is not the problem. Rather it is the availability of guns to mentally disturbed persons. This is where our focus should be.
Stephen Thompson
Tyler
The Second Amendment is not about hunting. Our Founders put this in our Bill of Rights ensure the people had the wherewithal to resist a tyrannical government. Remember, they had just fought a long and bloody war to overthrow a tyrannical King George.
But the Democrats have been trying to disarm the American people for years.
And as his chief of staff said early in his first year, President Obama’s governing mantra of, “don’t let a good crisis go to waste” causes me great concern.
The shooter’s mother knew her son was troubled. One would think, under these circumstances, she would have secured her guns under lock and key to prevent him from having access to them.
In the sadness and emotion of the moment, let’s not throw out the baby with the bath water. The availability of guns is not the problem. Rather it is the availability of guns to mentally disturbed persons. This is where our focus should be.
Stephen Thompson
Tyler
SEASON OF HOPE
Especially around this time of year, you hear arguments about separation of church (religion) and state like it is a debatable point. It is not.
As the great Christian philosopher Francis Schaffer said, “To have suggested the state separated from religion and religious influence would have amazed the Founding Fathers. The way that concept is used today is totally reversed from the original intent. It is used today as a false political dictum in order to restrict the influence of Christian ideas.”
John Adams said, “Statesman may plan and speculate for liberty, but it is religion and morality alone which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand.”
This fundamental shift in our worldview has led us to where we are today — standing on the edge of a precipice morally, economically and historically as a nation.
Our attempts to remove God and biblical influences from our society have resulted in a downward spiral of lawlessness and rampant evil, instead of becoming a “better society” as its proponents claim.
As we approach this Christmas season, it is my hope and I believe the hope of many Americans that we as a nation will look to the true meaning of Christmas and find our way back to our roots and the solid foundation that was laid for us over 230 years ago.
Let this be a season of forgiveness, hope and love for all Americans.
Tamra Bolton
Jacksonville
As the great Christian philosopher Francis Schaffer said, “To have suggested the state separated from religion and religious influence would have amazed the Founding Fathers. The way that concept is used today is totally reversed from the original intent. It is used today as a false political dictum in order to restrict the influence of Christian ideas.”
John Adams said, “Statesman may plan and speculate for liberty, but it is religion and morality alone which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand.”
This fundamental shift in our worldview has led us to where we are today — standing on the edge of a precipice morally, economically and historically as a nation.
Our attempts to remove God and biblical influences from our society have resulted in a downward spiral of lawlessness and rampant evil, instead of becoming a “better society” as its proponents claim.
As we approach this Christmas season, it is my hope and I believe the hope of many Americans that we as a nation will look to the true meaning of Christmas and find our way back to our roots and the solid foundation that was laid for us over 230 years ago.
Let this be a season of forgiveness, hope and love for all Americans.
Tamra Bolton
Jacksonville
