VIOLENCE IN OUR SOCIETY CAN BE LINKED TO GROWING ECONOMIC INSECURITY

With all of the violence we have experienced lately and as we approach the tenth anniversary of the Columbine HS massacre, we need to ponder the reasons people go out and kill dozens of people from time to time. TruthDig offers "Columbine Questions We Still Don’t Ponder" by David Sirota. Excerpt:

For three decades, we converted our economy into one that enriches the rich and stresses out everyone else. Paychecks dwindled, debts accumulated, health-care bills spiked. We now spend more hours working or seeking work, and fewer hours on parenting, family time and rest—all while schools and mental health services deteriorate. Considering this, shouldn’t we have expected the recent Associated Press story telling us “the American home is becoming more violent” because of the recession? Shouldn’t we have expected the new Department of Homeland Security report saying that “the economic downturn” is “invigorating rightwing extremist activity, specifically the white supremacist and militia movements.