A Wake-Up Call For America

    The recent killings in Hawaii and Seattle should serve as a wake-up call to our nation.  We must address the problem of violence.  To ignore it not only allows it to grow unchecked, it threatens to give rise to so-called solutions which are as dangerous in the long term as the problem of violence itself.
 
    After every such outbreak we hear new calls for gun control.  And increasingly we hear a demand for the outright banning of private firearms ownership. To paraphrase one of our recent Freeholder candidates, this would give rise to a society in which the only people who had guns were criminals, terrorists, madmen -- and the government.  A chilling thought indeed.
 
Sad to say, there is no quick, simple fix.  There is no one thing we need to do.  And there is no one part of our society that needs to do it.  I'll be more blunt:  It's not an excuse for more government action.
 
The solution lies with our families, with our churches, synagogues and mosques, and with the countless private organizations that bind our nation together, and that enrich it.  Private citizens have united to do everything from helping those with AIDS to feeding the homeless to providing wheelchairs to the handicapped.  The list is endless.
 
It's time for us, as private citizens, to take up a new challenge:  to promote tolerance and civility, to encourage the peaceful resolution of disputes, and to assist our neighbors who feel not only alienated, but driven
to the ultimate act of anger.  In short, we need to confront violence, and to neutralize it.
 
All of us who cherish life share in the suffering of those impacted by the violence in Hawaii and Seattle.  The loss of a loved one is overwhelming; for it to happen in such a horrific manner and in the national spotlight only makes it harder.  We pray that you can find the strength to endure, and to let the healing begin.  And we pledge to work for a better, more peaceful society for all.