“I just lost control” was the comment of the person who killed three Moscow residents a short while ago. We hear about numerous violent acts daily on the news with similar excuses for the behavior. But seldom, if ever, is a spiritual reason given for the violence. Why? Because of the assumptions that our society makes regarding life.
We accept the assumption of biological evolution, which places humans and animals on the same plane. We accept the assumption that humans are born with no inherent goodness or evil. Thus, we are molded primarily by our environment. The notion that we might be born with a sinful nature is the thinking of religious nuts, but has no place in the thinking of intelligent humans. The notion that “losing control” or “hearing voices in my head” could be of satanic origin is not even a consideration in our modern society.
The solutions to our problems with these assumptions is what I call “Band-Aid politics.” Taking away guns so people won’t get hurt. Treating all mental illness as a function of past trauma or unhealthy relationships. Redistributing incomes to eliminate the poor. To name a few. Perhaps we should re-evaluate our assumptions about life before Band-Aid politics has gone so far that there is no turning back.