Editor,
The horrible news about the Virginia Tech massacre has got me thinking. My heart goes out to all the victims of this pointless crime, although I can't help but think this kind of senseless, brutal act is endemic of the senseless, brutal society we have created for ourselves in the U.S.
As a nation, the first and best option in any conflict is now extreme violence, especially if we can go blow the crap out of some defenseless country full of brown people. Negotiation and compromise are not even considered anymore when it comes to dealing with other nations and the outside world in general. As Americans, we are totally immersed in our own culture of violence, death and destruction. The evidence is all around us, and it is very clearly destroying our country from the inside - movies, TV, talk radio, video games and even popular music are steeped in violence, violent images and divisive rhetoric, not to mention the endless war on terror. This point cannot be argued. Go see the movie "300" if you doubt my words.
What has been debated endlessly is whether or not these external influences are enough to foster such an anti-social and toxic worldview that killing your fellow humans becomes the only answer to your problems. It's high time people began to acknowledge that, whatever the reason, many people of all ages and demographics feel so utterly hopeless and isolated by modern society that not only do they want to end their own lives, they want to take innocent people with them. As a nation, we need to look inside ourselves and ask if this is really the world we want to inhabit or raise our children in.
Personally, I saw this coming many years ago, and I decided that I could not in my right mind bring a child into a world that is so totally wrong, so completely opposite of what it should be. My wife and I have been married for almost 25 years, and we are still constantly asked why we don't have kids. Well, I'll tell you why: Nothing is right about America today. It has been a long, downhill slide, certainly, but the trend has definitely intensified in the last eight years or so.
When our political leaders have no morals or ethics or even common sense, it doesn't help, either. When they are nothing more than warmongering psychopaths, it's even more difficult to accept. To put our trust in people who are so profoundly corrupt, selfish, uncaring and out of touch with reality is simply folly.
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And why is it that Americans worship celebrities and sports figures like gods? As a nation, we care more about these loathsome creatures and their pathetic personal tragedies than we do about our own children, and it shows. Frankly, I have seen enough to make me realize that we all need to get over our petty personal differences, work together to fix the things that we can, try to love each other unconditionally, and cooperate as the creator demands. We have a lot to learn, and it's a long, hard road ahead, but I
am willing.
Jason Darensburg
UNM student and staff
