Newtown

Was the tragic mass murder at Newtown, Connecticut, on December 14 just about guns or violent video games? Sentiment draws us to the victims, especially the children. The perpetrator, who is easily seen as an inhuman monster, was obviously mentally ill and inadequately attended to by family, friends and society. Intelligent reaction by policy makers must include research into the abysmal lack of preventative community mental health services in the United States. At a time when the loudest howling dogs in Washington bark a message of ending entitlements and cutting back on human services in general to avoid taxing those who could afford to pay more taxes, the discussion of Newtown could be a starting point for changing the pivot of the arguments from money to quality of life in human society.