who's to blame?

  And now all that's left is to place the blame. As the FBI and a host of other government agencies search for the assassin, being accused of incompetence and making a series of errors, the majority of the people are just looking to place the blame. Social media posts are being scanned, fingers being pointed, and individuals scrutinized. The killer will be found and brought before the court. But the blame will never be permanently assigned, never determined. All we will hear are further cries for gun control and mental health services. The blame will not be placed on the individual, but explained by a "data set" that places the root cause somehow on you! It is you, your lack of empathy, your lack of inclusivity that precipitated this horrific event. It's societies' fault.

  I disagree. It is solely the fault of the person pulling the trigger. There have always been those people in the world and there always will be. They don't have to be some stark raving mad maniac. They don't have to show any signs of mental illness at all. They may not have a mental illness, they may just lack morals. People like that can simply dismiss that internal compass that guides the majority of us and do these deeds. For people like that, the reality of the actions aren't a reality until they perform the deed. Then they may express remorse, regret and even acknowledge their wrong doing but they won't remember that the next time they strike. They can not see the consequence until the consequence is staring back at them! 

  I have no degrees of any kind. I'm not trying to say I know the answer to any of this. What I do know is what we are seeing is an emotional response. As I have often written, emotions are great motivators but seldom good guides, it is our emotions that get us into trouble. The outside stimulus is far greater toady than it ever has been in the history of man. Is social media and the internet to blame? No, they are the vehicles for that emotion, but it is how the individual processes those emotions that are the root cause. Sounds like something a phycologist might say, doesn't it? The processing of our emotions. Well, when I was growing up I had parents that helped me process my emotions. I got emotional and they responded to those emotional outbreaks. Yes, they got me calmed down in short order. 

  I did grow up with a certain mindset. A common adage was, you made your bed, now lie in it. It was a reminder that I was to blame for whatever situation I had gotten myself into, and it was up to me to deal with that. I was warned, you might want to think about that. When I failed to think things through that was often met with, told you so. I wasn't always prevented from trying, just warned about consequences for failure. As a result of all that I did learn to temper my emotions just a bit. I am still a bit of an excitable person, a person of action as I prefer to think of that, not afraid to speak up, but usually I hesitate just a bit to consider my options. When I fail to do that, I am prepared to accept the consequences. No one to blame but myself.

  Charlie Kirk, conservative influencer and a Christian. He would debate anyone, anywhere, at any time. Self assured, confident and informed. A family man that championed for the family values, traditions and ideals of the past. A man who spoke this truth and was often considered controversial. There were times when he let his emotions get the better of him, just like we all do. It's difficult not to do when you are passionate about the topic you are discussing. Just why he appealed to so many, and gained the notoriety he did I can't explain. I had only briefly listened to him, not a follower, just a curious passerby. May he rest in peace. 

  It is time, past time, for America to take a real deep breath. We need to compose ourselves, gather our thoughts and think about it! We need to relearn how to tune into that moral compass that guides us all. I don't believe anyone is born evil, but become misguided, disillusioned and confused. All that is being heightened by social media, by the constant barrage of external emotional responses. I'm old enough to remember when Kennedy was shot. On the news was Walter Cronkite and he made this simple announcement," President Kennedy has died at 1pm eastern time." He then removed his glasses, choked back a tear and continued reporting the news. A simple declarative statement, the emotional response was left to the viewer. Later the blame was squarely placed on Lee Harvey Oswald. Jack Ruby subsequently shot him on live television. The nation has been emotional about that ever since. Still trying to place blame, somewhere.