The 500-pound gorilla in the room

Okay, let’s address the 500-pound gorilla that is in the room. This past month we have seen an unprecedented increase in “mass” gun violence. Now, I’m not going to spout out the pros and cons of the 2nd amendment nor am I going to advocate for or argue against the NRA.

What I am going to do is discuss with you the problem of morality. I don’t think we have any. I think whole sale violence has more to do with the reasoning behind the violence than the instruments that are used to commit that violence. I really believe that what we have in this country is a moral problem not a legal problem.

And why wouldn’t we have? We have multiple generations that have been raised on Friday the 13th-type movies and GTA-type video games. The wholesale destruction in just these two forms of media must influence the mind. At the very least, they affect compassion for others.

This is coming from a guy who played Bump and Jump, Frogger and Pac Man. I loved watching Looney Tunes and rooted for the Road Runner on numerous occasions. I also remember watching the Vietnam War updates “Live via Satellite,” So yeah, I watched violence in my upbringing, but not to the degree it is offered now. The thing was I also had church in my upbringing.

My church and my family taught me the importance of morality. You see, morality isn’t about how I act — it is about how I treat people. Christ taught us to love God and love our neighbor, thus we have a basic premise of morality. And keep in mind, I am a theologian, not a philosophy student or a psychologist. What I am sharing with you is my gut feeling about what is wrong with this country.

Our moral compass has been broken. This violence has everything to do with people not truly knowing what morality is. We are all broken in some form or fashion. We all have hurts and we all have anger, but we don’t all lash out in a violent manner.

Imagine what would happen if we encouraged those who felt wronged to change the system, not destroy it. What if we taught the importance of dialogue in ALL situations? What if our corporate and government leaders practiced the art of caring for others rather than focusing on self? What if we shouted words of encouragement rather than words of hate and anger?

The point is, as Walt Kelly once wrote in Pogo, “We have found the enemy and he is us.” If you want to find blame for the mass acts of violence, we only need to look in the mirror. We humans are our own worst enemy.

Where do we start? Why not start at church? In fact, make that your priority in these coming days. We are going to face more stress and more anger as the year progresses. Maybe you and I should focus on keeping near God, and then bring others to God.

We have a problem folks, and quite frankly, new laws are not going to fix it, only the old commandments can. Loving God and loving our neighbor is what it is going to take.

Shalom my friends.

See you in church.

Rev. Kent Wilfong is the pastor at the United Methodist Church, Doniphan/Neelyville.