The Dark Side of our Freedoms..

As many of you know by now, there was a tragedy in Montreal, Canada this week, with the killing of one innocent woman and the serious injury to 19 others, through the act of one single, deranged person with guns in his coat.
This tragic event underlines the need for our society to truly examine the effects on our children of the “dark side” of entertainment, media and the internet. I separate the three as follows:
Entertainment in the form of Marilyn Manson and the like of “dark side” entertainers must be questioned for its value to our society. What is it about us that requires such people to be labelled “entertainment”? Can someone please explain to me how the allowance of such “fun” helps us create responsible, open-hearted, positive and constructive members in our society? Is it all in the name of “freedom”?
Media in the form of KKK and NeoNazi websites or gothic ones like where the killer of this week posted his blogs and the like, give value to our society? What is it about us that requires us to permit such hatred to be spread to our children? Is it all in the name of “freedom”?
Internet is a subset form of media which is so engulfing, that I’ll categorize it separately for the purpose of this commentary. It is completely democratic, in that there requires no formal structure or resources to post whatever it is we wish to. So we have a helter skelter, “do as you wish”, “write as you wish”, “hurt as you wish”, approach to the ability of webhosts to create sites which push those like Kimveer Gill even deeper into the dark side. Is it all in the name of “freedom”?
I once challenged someone to tell me who, in the West, we think we are to impose our definitions of “freedom” on countries like Cuba and others who are considered “pariah” states. As far as I know, children in Cuba have no fear of guns when they walk into their schools, predators of children are dealt with in terms that would be unthinkable in the “free West”, and guns are not “fair trade” for anyone who cares to register one. Drugs are not tolerated and crime is punished most effectively.
Two children of friends of mine were in the buildings at Dawson College when the shooter began his rampage this week. I am thankful that they escaped unharmed yet I cannot sleep well knowing that it is US as parents that permit the kind of thoughtless entertainment or media (print or internet), which simply pushes people who are on the edge and in need of help, to the dark side which welcomes them with open arms and no limits to express their darkest thoughts and in many cases, gives them encouragement to act them out.
I fear for our children that we do not realize soon that freedom is not to be defined within the thin passage of the type of government we have, yet rather by the true freedoms of life that we should enjoy. I know this is an edgy subject and I may incur the wrath of gun lobbies, civil liberties unions and the like. My answer: “Frankly my dear…..”
What can we do as individuals? Perhaps start by knowing our children better. By helping them understand right from wrong, and hey here’s a thought..holding parents responsible for the acts of their non-adult children in situations where harm is caused. Now just think how that might change people’s manner in life if they knew that they could simply not produce children like popcorn and then put them out into society to deal with the damage done through their lack of attention or caring for their produce. I know this would not have helped in the case of this week’s events since the killer was 25 years old. I just think we are not sufficiently held accountable as parents for the things we permit in our own homes. He did live at home and did take those pictures from his parent’s home after all..
Sass