Once again, we are shocked at multiple killings in a community by an individual using a powerful weapon, something unheard of in previous generations.

We have allowed this into our lives, through movies, television and games, where this kind of killing is the routine response. We have taught young people that having a powerful weapon will solve the problem facing them. We encourage these actions as long as it’s used against an enemy. The message has been learned as part of life in this modern world.

Unfortunately, the message also is in the minds of those few among us who have trouble dealing with society, or who feel threatened by their neighbors. We may judge them as mentally or emotionally unstable, but they have learned the same lesson of weapon use as all the rest of us. And sometimes, they use it as an answer to their own grievances.

Let’s look again at the movies, television and games that we enjoy each day. We need to teach ourselves a new message and, somehow, erase the old one.

William R. Seabrook, Dunkirk