Reflective Renewal: Youth Violence: A Perennial Problem

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You don’t have to think too long or look too hard to realize that none of us is really safe from violence in today’s world. Recently, as I was reviewing literature about youth violence, I read in an article by Megan Sweas, assistant editor of U. S. Catholic, that youth violence touches us all. The July 2009 issue of that publication examines the problem from various perspectives. One of those perspectives includes violence as a byproduct of original sin. In her editor’s note, Ms. Sweas says that “Original sin doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, but does that mean we should just get used to the violence that surrounds us?” My answer to that question is a resounding “No!”

As a retired public school educator and former university professor, I have listened to so many tragic stories about how violence in schools is escalating and how we have become inured to its impact on our society. I paid close attention when my former students commiserated about things that had been ventured and things that had failed to resolve the perennial issue of kids killing kids. I listened carefully as they, through their ongoing research agendas, dissected old approaches only to discover that in many urban settings decision makers have been remixing and reapplying the same worn out solutions to a problem that simply won’t go away. Is it time to push back and look at the issues from a different perspective? Are we suffering from the effects of viewing the problem from a truncated range of possibilities? Are we any where close to the heart of the matter?

Honestly, I have to say that I don’t have the answers. Nor do I believe that any one group holds the trademark on a perfect remedy. But I know this one thing: If we are going to combat youth violence, we have to do jump into the fray. We have to help kids make informed decisions based on the widest possible range of options. Otherwise a whole generation will be lost. We have to get involved, and each of us has to use what God gave us to fabricate reasonable and sustainable solutions. I’m in! What about you?