The Old Adage

Remember the old adage? You know the one that goes, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."? Well, consider what wouldn't have happened had all those people who saw in the Tuscon shooter a very troubled young man intervened to help him, direct him to help or informed professionals to act to help him. Had he had some that help, it's likely all that happened in Tucson Saturday would not have happened.

We keep cutting funds and services for the mentally ill, from those who are just mildy troubled or depressed to those who are seriously mentally ill. We saw this with the Virginia Tech shooting, the worst in recent history. And nothing was done to help that young man. We saw this with the Tucson shooter and nothing was done. And now 6 people are dead, another 14 injured, some critically, including Congressional Representative Giffords.

All the rants to save mental health money will now cost us in both lives and resources, and end up putting one young man in prision for life, if not the death penalty. And at what price? Was it worth all the savings for not helping him when we had the chance? All the hundreds of thousands of dollars will be spent when a few thousand would have probably prevented this act. Maybe not another act but at least this one.

We're at a crossroads with our nation and society, especially with the proliferation of guns - now at 270 million guns for 308 million people, meaning on average one gun for 90% of the population of this country. We need to serious address and resolve two issues. First, fund mental healthcare for all needed people. Second, deal the the sheer number of guns and the easy purchasing, carrying and use of them in public.

These are the two keys issues with the Tucson shooting. A troubled, angry young man and Arizona's very relaxed gun laws (almost the worst in the country). The shooter, while acting alone, lived and reacted to the world around him. Our world too. He saw it differently than we have and he acted differently than we would. It's that simple. And it's simple we could have prevented this, but we didn't.

We keep dismissing these horrific acts as isolated or incidental and then we keep reacting in horror when they happen. Dozens of mass shooting in the last two decades. Dozens of non-gun violent acts against the government or others. And yet we keep ignoring the obviousness of them and the consistency with which they happen.

We can't keep doing this if we are to become a better nation. We need to address the two issues, mental health services and guns. And when we do, we'll realize the old adage, an ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure. And we'll save a lot of lives and grieving friends and families.