Shooting sprees, road rage and Light the Night...

So, I was replying in the 'Guns are the cause of shooting violence' thread when something popped into my head.

I think that a part of the problem we are having in this country today is that Light the Night parties are being promoted to take the place of Trick or Treating. It feels like a symptom of our separation from each other to me. Instead of a focus on community and community service, the focus on this country is firmly on moving up, making more, spending more. Families have to have two jobs to get by or get ahead. Kids are being raised by TV, movies and music. Nobody knows their neighbors any more.

I am still in the process of 'thinking out loud' here, but it feels to me like the answer to gun problems isn't JUST more gun control. Just like the answer to inner city problems isn't everybody getting or staying married. But what the answer actually IS and how to get there...I am not sure. But we need to back up some. More and more people are living in cities, but with proximity seems to come distance. Maybe some of the solution to a lot of our problems would be getting back to building communities, even within cities and suburbs.

Does that make sense??

Makes sense to me.

I've been saying this for years and years. I could write a book on this, yet there is nothing to say.

Concrete versus dirt. Big versus small. And especially now that we are four times the population that we were before we decided to turn our world into a parking lot.

It's so obvious to me I don't see much point in saying more. We're animals. We need dirt. And neighbors.


And one other thing- people do stuff for reasons. When deprived of the things that make humans human, they do bad stuff. And the way we have created this culture, humans have little value now.

The more divided we are...the more divided we are. And people are NOT 'bad'. They might do bad things. But THEY are not bad. And no, I am not Pollyanna. I have read all the horrible stuff everybody else has read and seen some things I wish I hadn't. But I know that if you traced their life back, you could find that spot where things fell off the rails. That moment where if more people cared, they wouldn't have wound up where they were. The thing is, once they are off the rails it is hard to impossible to get them back on track. We need to get ahead of the situation. Single mothers need resources to help them raise their kids. Their kids need safe places to get involved in safe activities. And no, it wouldn't start working overnight and that's the hard part. So many people want to see an instant return on their investment. Or, if they are Republicans, they don't see any point in investing in other people at all.

It is all very frustrating.

I went to the store today. While there, four very rough looking people were shopping. I've seen them before. Mohawk, shredded clothes, piercings. When I left the store, I saw a sheriff obviously busting them while they were crossing a baseball field. And another cop on the way. And all I could think of was 'just what these poor people need'. Another setback. And it will make these people even more angry and more distand, and more willing to do something bad to this society. We are only making the problems worse. And it's not just an American phenomenon. A lot of human beings just don't get it. Or maybe it's the fact that once people are "out of line" with the societal structure, we aren't willing to spend the time and energy and care on them.

Four years ago, we started Friday Nights on Main.

We close down our Main Street, put bands at either end, drag chairs and tables into the street, and have a big party.

The first year, The Town Council let us try it for 5 consecutive Fridays,

The next year, twelve.

Then twenty-six.

This year, we had to cut back to sixteen because it was just killing us.

The same few of us ended up doing all of the work and none of us is younger than 55.

But it sure is fun.

http://www.marinij.com/travel/ci_6408481

This is exactly what I am talking about. People getting connected to each other. So that you know your neighbor's names and talk to them on the street. You look out for each other and know each other's kids. THAT is what we are starting to lose.

It was all about interaction, not commerce.

And it turned into a beautiful adventure.