What gives with America and school shootings?

Once again America mourns the senseless and tragic mass murder of children at one of its schools. Once again, politicians are either offering “thoughts and prayers for the family”, or “We have to do something! This has to stop!” It doesn’t stop. The words, though full of emotion at the time, always ring hollow. Nothing changes. The media doesn’t help, either, playing more to people’s emotions than presenting anything meaningful. The event fades from the news cycle in a few days and America’s public amnesia sets in, as if programmed that way, until the next time a similar event happens. What is it about the US that causes such a terrible state of affairs – events like those rarely seen in other nations? Perhaps the US national chart offers some clues. Continue reading “What gives with America and school shootings?”