The link between morals, gun violence

Yet another letter is blaming gun violence on a lack of moral values in this country. These letters all appear to be written by conservatives. Let me ask them this: Do morals have anything to do with honesty, integrity, kindness, humility, fidelity and putting the welfare of others ahead of your own self interests?

If so, how can you lecture us on their importance and then turn around and support a president who displays exactly the opposite qualities?

My wife and I were traveling in Scandinavia when the El Paso and Dayton shootings occurred. Scandinavians are exposed to the same entertainment industry as the U.S. They go to church less often, and they are more likely to live together outside of marriage. Their abortion rates, drug consumption, and alcohol consumption are all comparable to ours. We saw nothing to suggest that Scandinavians have higher moral values than Americans. Yet they experience gun deaths at one-eighth the rate we see here.

Actually, Scandinavians do pay higher taxes and have a stronger safety net for their citizens. They also have fewer guns.

The United States has more gun deaths per capita than every other civilized country in the world. If a business was doing something worse than every other business in its industry, that business would try to find out what the others were doing differently, and emulate that. But you will never hear a conservative suggest that we look to other countries for ideas on how we can reduce gun violence here. Why? They are afraid that they would not like the answer.

How moral is that? Conservatives have their uses, but when it comes to reducing gun violence, they have nothing to offer. Lessons on morality, least of all.

William Myers

Buffalo Grove