A Culture That Condones The Killing Of Children And Teaches Children To Kill

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/12/15-3   Published on Saturday, December 15, 2012 by Common Dreams A Culture That Condones The Killing Of Children And Teaches Children To Kill by Lucinda Marshall The Sandy Hook massacre isn't just about the need for gun control laws, it is about a culture that condones the killing of children and teaches children that killing is okay. It is about a country addicted to violence on television and movie screens. It is about cuts in education spending. It is about giving the military free access to our schools where they regale our children with romanticized delusions of military righteousness. It is about environmental and health policies that expose our children to all manner of toxins in the air, land and water. It is about thinking we have the right to kill children with drones or by dropping toxic munitions on their countries that cause birth defects and miscarriages. It is about saddling our children with crippling education debt and no prospect for jobs. It is about telling boys (and men) they have to be tough and to fight and kill for what they want or think is right. It is about a national policy that denies children basic rights and systemically teaches them that violence is okay. And it is about a media so insensitive that it thinks it is okay to shove a microphone in the face of young victims in the name of sensationalized 24/7 cable "news" while under-reporting the root causes of this tragedy. Sandy Hook did not happen because of a lone, disturbed young man and it is not an isolated incident. It is an epidemic and we are all to blame. And today (and tomorrow and every day after that) is the time to confront this self-inflicted tragedy.   ###   Trouble viewing this email? Click here to view this and past Newsletters online. Home | About Us | Donate | Subscribe | Archives Do you want to share the news with a friend? Click here to tell them about Common Dreams. News... Can Massacre Break Pattern of US Indifference to Gun Violence? http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/12/15 'None Dead' in China: Sensible Laws vs. Maniacal Attacks http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/12/15-0 Slaughter in Connecticut: 20 Children, 6 Adults Dead in Kindergarten Massacre http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/12/14-1 **************************************************** Video... US Mourns Victims of School Shooting http://www.commondreams.org/video/2012/12/15 **************************************************** Our Mission: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. www.commondreams.org