First.. Merry Christmas! I hope everyone is getting to enjoy time with their families and sharing lots of happy times together.
I need to voice my opinion as there is so much suffering and sadness this holiday season.
Everyone is screaming about gun control, violent video games, and mental health to explain why our world is filled with so much tragedy…but most people that own guns, play violent video games, or have mental health problems are not violent and never will be.
Focusing of those issues doesn’t get to the heart of the problem. The ugly core that is the true problem.
The real problem can be summarized in three words: empathy, emotional regulation, and esteem. They all start with the letter E, so that should make them easy to remember. These are skills that don’t come natural. These are skills that must be taught and instilled from a young age. Basic parenting skills. We don’t need new laws or more controls, we need better tools to give to parents, teachers, and everyone to teach empathy, emotional regulation, and esteem.
I would be willing to wager that someone with these three parts of their self fully developed are not violent.
So this Christmas as you tear open gifts and consume plates full of delicious food, consider how we as a society can develop empathy, emotional regulation, and esteem in everyone around us.
Give lots of hugs today and celebrate the joys in your life!
