OUR VIEW: How Do We Stop The Next Act Of Mass Violence?

How do Americans stop the next act of mass violence? Is the answer tougher gun control devised by politicians? 

Nope. 

As a nation, we could impose an outright ban guns or magazines today and it wouldn't stop mass violence in a backwards culture. To the contrary, it might set off a few more loose screws out there, while stripping law-abiding citizens of their right to self-defense.

Guns and ammunition are everywhere. They're not going away. While tougher background checks might be one area of political comprise -- and something we're OK with -- they'd only be a feel-good step that would fail to address the multiple other ways that mass harm and death can be inflected.

The sickness affecting society today goes beyond the issue of gun violence. 

There was a time when guns and rifles were in the majority of U.S. homes. Mass shootings could have been carried out quite easily. But they almost never occurred. (That's why nut jobs like Charles Starkweather were talked about and hated for decades after their atrocities.)

There's something deeper going on here. Drug use has become normalized. Mental health issues are becoming more common. Suicide rates are soaring. Why? Find the answer and you'll uncover the source of what's causing the spike in mass shootings.

We suspect some of the reason is that over the last couple of decades, society as a whole -- not just America -- has become less socially connected. More isolated. Less religious and spiritual, and certainly more self-centered. Worse yet, what we're feeding our minds on a daily basis is as unhealthy as what many are putting in their bodies.

Some say "social media" brings out the worst in humans. Others say the Internet exposes already fragile brains to the sickest, most evil ideas conceived. But just like guns, Internet technology and social media are not going away. 

So how do we make our communities safer from the evil-doers?

The most effective way, the only legitimate way to stop the next act of mass violence is for friends, families, coworkers, neighbors, and online connections to report those who are likely to carry out such acts. No one can catch the "bad guys" as easily as those who see them every day. The clues are almost always there.

If you observe someone -- even family members -- who is routinely making threats of violence, or talking of violence on a regular basis, you have a duty to report them to law enforcement. In this era, such threats cannot be tolerated.

Contact the Saline County Sheriff's Department, or leave a tip with the FBI. It's better to be safe than sorry.

Despite the negative nature of this editorial, keep in mind the good people still greatly outnumber the bad apples. The evil, unbalanced individuals are few in numbers, but they can inflict much harm while making us all less trustful of our fellow human beings. 

It's up to all of us to try to stop the next act of mass violence. Pay attention. Obverse. Then, if need be, report.