Faith and Trust ... and Gun Violence

An article by historian Randolph Ross in today's Washington Post has it that there is a long historical connection between rises in people's tendency toward committing deadly acts of violence and people's having lost faith and trust in government. "How the erosion of trust leads to murders and mass shootings" details the way in which, as trust dissipates, killings rise.

Americans' trust in governmental leaders is at a low ebb. We've just seen, in Las Vegas, the worst mass shooting in our history. There's a connection, Roth maintains.

A makeshift memorial to those killed by Stephen Paddock
at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas.

This doesn't come as a big surprise. Whenever Americans have faith in those who lead them, each feels as if he or she comprises a distinct thread in a common flag.

Whether one is a red thread or a blue thread, each of us is best off when he or she knows it takes both colors to make an American flag.

We've lost that sense of unity today. What can we do to restore it? I think all of us need to work harder at restoring our one-time mutual dedication to civility.

According to the thesaurus, words closely related to civility include ...

... honors; ceremony, observance, rite, ritual; decorum, etiquette, form, manners, mores, proprieties; ... regards, respects; favor, grace, kindliness, kindness; protocol, rules

Let's all think about words like those and try to implement them in our lives once again! It may help put an end to all these unconscionable acts of deadly gun violence ...