Monday Meditation
The mass shooting at Apache High School left four people dead and at least nine injured. I say “at least” because in a real sense, everyone at the school, students, teachers and parents are injured. Following Saint Paul (and Dr. King), perhaps it’s best to remember “when one suffers, we all suffer.” It’s safe to say we are all suffering from gun violence. Some more than others, for certain; nevertheless the repeated trauma is in our collective national body. Riding the train in the nation’s capital triggers unwanted thoughts, as does attending a concert or any large public gathering, not to mention the low-simmering fear among students and teachers. The struggle continues for a remedy that will address the underlying causes of such violence. Better laws, in my opinion, will not address the spiritual and moral root of the problem that plagues us. Yet, laws can and do prohibit unwanted behavior and can lead to change. I don’t believe banning assault weapons is the solution to a spiritual problem, but it may keep the guns out of the hands of those who kill innocent people. As a nation, we are awash in guns that are easily accessible to anyone, including teenagers. Unless we stop the proliferation of guns and their easy access, nothing will change. This is what we are experiencing while we debate and officials are unable to come to any agreement on sensible gun laws. It’s baffling. More importantly, it’s more trauma to the grieving survivors, and all of us.
I don’t think it’s helpful describing the 14 year old killer as a “sick, deranged monster” and his action as “pure evil.” What qualifies as “pure evil?” How is it helpful to speak of a teenager as a monster? It’s not clear what burden he was carrying that led him to this action. According to the Washington Post, his aunt described him as “begging for months” for help with mental health problems, from everybody around him. The adults are around him failed him.” How did those around him miss the signals of his damaged self? No one would describe this as “pure evil.” It’s not precisely clear what Saint Paul meant by “principalities and powers” that are arrayed against us. Yet, he believes these are the invisible forces whose collective purpose is death, to which we are all subject. Hence, his summons “to put on the full armor of God.”
I have no knowledge of the killer’s circumstances. Still I consider him a child without armor, consumed by forces larger than himself arrayed against him. He should never have had any access to a gun. What about his father who gave an AR15 rifle to his son, knowing of the allegations against him that were dismissed? Is he guilty of abetting this killing? When the FBI received information about the killer a year ago and did nothing because there was not enough evidence, was that an instance of collective error? In this case, the law prohibited them from taking any further action. Is the collective failure of our nation to do anything that will effectively block children’s access to guns an instance of our submission to the principalities and powers arrayed against us? Is this evil with a social location rather than only in a deeply troubled individual whom we can dismiss as a “deranged monster?”
If we locate the problem of gun violence in a single individual, again and again, we will never address the root of the condition that continues to plague us. We must find ways to speak about the spiritual harm that comes from the relentless trauma of deadly forces arrayed against us, and what we can do in response. In the meantime, we continue to grieve with those who grieve.
Let us pray with the Psalmist: “Teach us to number our days, that we may present unto you a heart of wisdom.”
