Love And Violence

My 16-year-old looks away from the movie screen when two people kiss.

There are rules in his high school against Public Displays of Affection.
My 12-year-old was disturbed by seeing two men kiss.
When two people are loving each other publicly, society wants them to “get a room”.
Let’s put that someplace we can’t see it.



Images of bombs hitting their targets are standard in today’s news.
We all heard of the tragedy at Sandy Hook.
And the World Trade Center.
And the Oklahoma City bombing.
And Columbine.
And Aurora.
And Gabby Giffords being shot in the head.
And Osama bin Laden’s assassination.
And the hanging of Saddam Hussein.
And Hiroshima.
And Nagasaki.
A common motto in the newspaper industry is, “If it bleeds, it leads.”



Today the Supreme Court will start debating Proposition 8.
Propostition 8 bans same-sex marriage in California.
It was voted into existence after the Defense Of Marriage Act was voted into existence, which states that marriage only happens between a man and a woman.
California needed two measures to prevent people in love from committing their love to each other.



We can’t even get a good debate started on gun control.
Meanwhile, California voters successfully voted twice that people who love each other can’t get married to each other if they have the same private parts.



Why are we so comfortable with violence?
Why are we so uncomfortable with love?