How did our society produce a James Holmes?
By Tony Joaquin
Not difficult really.
It is a known fact throughout the shocked world that America has long been a growing war freak from the time they’ve been fighting the native American Indians and seizing their ancestral lands.
Another factor is the Second Amendment in the United States Constitution. It is supposed to protect the right of the people to keep and bear arms. It was adopted on December 15, 1791, along with the rest of the Bill of Rights.
This amendment may have been valid in the early days of frontier life when lawlessness reigned and the country was with wild animals. But in today’s civilized society, the second amendment is not as relevant, and yet war freaks condoned by the National Rifle Association still persist. The NRA always wins every attempt to amend or remove this provision.
To make matters worse, America imports violent video games that endorse all kinds of mayhem and brutality. All this is supposed to provide “entertainment” to youngsters.
Along this line, Hollywood produces movies that glamorize guns and gangsters. In some of these movies, the police and agents of the law are portrayed as the bad guys while the gangsters are the heroes! These producers continue to romanticize violence as the be-all of machismo and heroism and how American soldiers are well trained to kill efficiently.
In the face of all this climate of violence we then find even in the higher echelons of society a seemingly immature model of a war freak: the president of the most powerful country in the world. He knows only to wage war because he does not know how to foster peace. He invades other countries that he wrongly accuses as terrorists with faulty evidences or even planted ones. To make his image look tough in the world he verbally abuses leaders and calls their countries members of the “axis of evil” out to destroy the U.S. He was successful in angering Islamic countries and we saw what happened on 9/11.
So, am I now surprised to read about the Aurora, Colorado shooting? Of course not. And if nothing is done by way of legislation and in formal education, this will surely happen again.
The NaFFAA affiliate in Southern Colorado announced a Filipino teenager is among the victims of the shooting rampage. He was identified as Ryan Lumba, 17, a graduate of Eaglecrest High School. Ryan is the son of Sam and Remy Lumba. He reportedly received shrapnel wounds in the stomach, and is said to be in stable condition. The Filipino American community requests prayers for Ryan and his family.
Reading this article and thinking about where I live, reminds me how violent this society is, as with the rest of the world.
Mabalacat, Pampanga, Republic of the Philippines