DAMNED RIGHT! (y) Kathryn Elizabeth: "I want to share something with you that struck me, when reflecting on what happened. After taking political science, my whole perspective on the role of law in our country has shifted. We need a ground-up cultural revolution. We need a return to true human dignity. First, people don't "just do things". Decisions percolate, like coffee. Whether we realize it or not, we're constantly receiving messages. From the people around us, from the media we consume (books are also a type of media!), etc. Second, murder is not a "normal" thing. Third, the solutions presented are always more laws....which, again, natural. It'd certainly be beautiful to be able to legislate the capacity to kill out of existence. But adding to the law isn't providing a lasting, long term solution. In order to stop the violence, we need a real, cultural renewal. We need people who are willing to treat the heart of the matter. In our national values, our national norms, what we spend our time and money on, the way in which our nation encourages people to live life, the kind of media we consume, the entertainment that we are informed by. It's like when you have the flu, and you start throwing up. We ought not only treat the throwing up - we have to also treat the deeper infection. Nature and nurture, right? People don't just pick up a gun, one day, and decide to murder. Murderers at some point become sick in the heart. They change on the inside, and that change manifests itself as evil action. But they don't change on their own. Somewhere we've become a culture that affirms extremism, violence, obsession with violence, smack-talk, jokes at the expense of the dignity of others, having a "meh" attitude about everything, as "normal". I can't tell you how many times I talk to people about what's going on in the world, or even in my own life, good or bad, and the response is a distinterested "that's nice". Well, no. Existence is more than nice. It is *good* to exist. It is *good* to be alive. It is *good* to be an average human being. George Bailey, eh? I can't give you an answer as to what precisely the root of the sickness in America's heart *is*, but we really ought to consider what's happening so we can come to solutions that hit every level: education, culture, politics and policies, guns, etc. America toutes her freedom and government like some badge of pride. It's not. Our founding fathers knew that it wasn't enough to have good laws. They themselves said that the laws they wrote were only possible because the people's hearts were good, true, moral, and responsible. Peace demands everyone abide by a code. It isn't enough, anymore, that we're a free nation. We also have to be a responsible nation. Liberty is not the right to do whatever we want -- it's the right to do what we ought. But America's "ought" has become so cloudy, so confused...that we get people who *choose* to do evil things, even if the law says otherwise. If people aren't taught that they're responsible for themselves, for their actions, *morally* - that there is objective good and evil - if people aren't taught to respect the dignity present in *every human person* - then we're going to continue to see things like this, and worse. Responsibility and "ought" are two words that seem to have disappeared entirely from our global vocabulary. Our founding fathers talked a lot about an ought. They knew and said repeatedly that American citizens were exceptional because they took responsibility for themselves and governed their own behavior. Again, it isn't enough that America is free, anymore. We must also be responsible."

DAMNED RIGHT! (y) Kathryn Elizabeth: "I want to share something with you that struck me, when reflecting on what happened. After taking political science, my whole perspective on the role of law in our country has shifted. We need a ground-up cultural revolution. We need a return to true human dignity. First, people don't "just do things". Decisions percolate, like coffee. Whether we realize it or not, we're constantly receiving messages. From the people around us, from the media we consume (books are also a type of media!), etc. Second, murder is not a "normal" thing. Third, the solutions presented are always more laws....which, again, natural. It'd certainly be beautiful to be able to legislate the capacity to kill out of existence. But adding to the law isn't providing a lasting, long term solution. In order to stop the violence, we need a real, cultural renewal. We need people who are willing to treat the heart of the matter. In our national values, our national norms, what we spend our time and money on, the way in which our nation encourages people to live life, the kind of media we consume, the entertainment that we are informed by. It's like when you have the flu, and you start throwing up. We ought not only treat the throwing up - we have to also treat the deeper infection. Nature and nurture, right? People don't just pick up a gun, one day, and decide to murder. Murderers at some point become sick in the heart. They change on the inside, and that change manifests itself as evil action. But they don't change on their own. Somewhere we've become a culture that affirms extremism, violence, obsession with violence, smack-talk, jokes at the expense of the dignity of others, having a "meh" attitude about everything, as "normal". I can't tell you how many times I talk to people about what's going on in the world, or even in my own life, good or bad, and the response is a distinterested "that's nice". Well, no. Existence is more than nice. It is *good* to exist. It is *good* to be alive. It is *good* to be an average human being. George Bailey, eh? I can't give you an answer as to what precisely the root of the sickness in America's heart *is*, but we really ought to consider what's happening so we can come to solutions that hit every level: education, culture, politics and policies, guns, etc. America toutes her freedom and government like some badge of pride. It's not. Our founding fathers knew that it wasn't enough to have good laws. They themselves said that the laws they wrote were only possible because the people's hearts were good, true, moral, and responsible. Peace demands everyone abide by a code. It isn't enough, anymore, that we're a free nation. We also have to be a responsible nation. Liberty is not the right to do whatever we want -- it's the right to do what we ought. But America's "ought" has become so cloudy, so confused...that we get people who *choose* to do evil things, even if the law says otherwise. If people aren't taught that they're responsible for themselves, for their actions, *morally* - that there is objective good and evil - if people aren't taught to respect the dignity present in *every human person* - then we're going to continue to see things like this, and worse. Responsibility and "ought" are two words that seem to have disappeared entirely from our global vocabulary. Our founding fathers talked a lot about an ought. They knew and said repeatedly that American citizens were exceptional because they took responsibility for themselves and governed their own behavior. Again, it isn't enough that America is free, anymore. We must also be responsible." - Orlando shooting update: News conference coming soon. Live updates: http://wapo.st/1sAKBJ4 Gunman pledged allegiance to ISIS: http://wapo.st/1sAMXaV