A Common Thread

Aurora, Colorado Shooting Scene

We are at a loss to explain what would prompt someone to carry out a senseless act of violence like the Aurora, Colorado movie theatre massacre.   As time goes by, the background of a disturbed shooter, accounts of survivors and stories of exceptional people will fade from the headlines.  The impact of this tragedy will not go away, given the possibility of a similar incident happening again.   The conversation about violence in America never seems to get far.   Nobody is remotely suggesting responsible gun owners should be totally deprived of a Second Amendment right to bear arms, yet a well-funded effort by the NRA has both political parties afraid to even bring up the topic of a nationwide assault weapons ban.   Mayor Bloomberg is a billionaire and an independent, so he can afford to speak up.   Then there's the issue of increasing levels of violence in movies.   The latest Batman movie was touted as more shocking than ever with an even more dastardly villain than Heath Ledger's Joker.   Of course, the only resolution is total annihilation.   This increasingly dark narrative now runs through all the superhero movies along with other action features designed to top their predecessors.   Does this desensitize a mostly young audience?   Are we to accept this as the new norm because a Hollywood movie raked in $160,000,000 in an opening weekend?    Will we have to pass through metal detectors just to take in movie?   

Look at another sad news headline. The Penn State football sexual assault scandal resulted in  harsh fines on the school along with the disgraced legacy of coach Joe Paterno.   People in power turned a blind eye to protect a multi-million dollar sports franchise instead of doing the right thing.   For all the severity of the penalty,  I can't believe Penn State could still take the field this season.   2012 will stand out as the year we saw the effect of big money having its way like never before.   The Citizens United Supreme Court decision now enables Super PACs to drown out voices who are not as well funded.   When we can't even have the beginnings of a real discourse in the political arena, we are in big trouble.   And how's that drug war going?