Sentinel Watch March 7, 2011 Issue

Erasing violence from the headlines

Keith Wommack

Recently,  the news was dominated by a random, violent act involving a perpetrator with chronicled emotional disorders.

The scene took place in January, when six people were killed and another 13 injured in a shooting near Tucson, Arizona. This violent act is alleged to have been an assassination attempt on Gabrielle Giffords, a member of the United States House of Representatives, as she was meeting publicly with constituents. Giffords is recovering from her injuries.

Our communities need to be protected. Individuals with emotional or psychological problems—including the alleged shooter—need to be helped. However, I’m learning that our collective spiritual growth and maturity can help to do both. They can even stop the violence that would grab headlines.