We must get back to culture of civility

How do we end this culture of violence in America? A man in Idaho starts a fire so he can ambush the firemen that respond; a madman kills and injures legislators and spouses in Minnesota because he disagrees with their politics; school shootings on an almost monthly basis; too many mass killings to count or even remember; shooting a health care executive in the back walking down a street in Manhattan because you hate the industry; attempted assassination of Donald Trump; bludgeoning Nancy Pelosi’s husband; mobs besieging the nation’s Capitol; using cars and trucks to plow through crowded celebrations, thrill killings.

The carnage from drug wars and rampant crime in every major American city; muggings and murder on mass transit; road-rage incidents; domestic disputes ending in bloodshed.

And when did it become OK for coaches and parents to attack umpires and referees?

Do we have to settle every disagreement with some form of mayhem and fury, soothe every hurt with brutality?

I cannot answer when and where this mindset began, but I fear where it will lead us. Are we to become an armed camp, with police and military on every corner, or will we finally say enough is enough and work our way back to some semblance of civility where we can settle disputes and differences without anyone dying?

Tom Dillivan

Schaumburg