Teen Violence

Shamefully, I don't watch the news much anymore. Yes it makes me ignorant, but it also helps me sleep a little better at night. After working for a few years at a courthouse, I became extremely burned out by daily crime, hatred, and violence. So now I only hear about the really big stuff from Twitter and Facebook. Today I got wind of Christopher Lane, the Australian baseball player here visiting his girlfriend's family who was randomly shot down by "bored" teens, and now Delbert Belton, an 88-year-old WWII vet who was beat to death by a couple of teens.

WHAT IS GOING ON IN OUR COUNTRY?

Seriously, has senseless violence in the United States always been this bad, only they didn't hear about it in the old days before Internet, or are we collectively screwed as a nation because of gruesome torture movies, easy access to firearms, and violent video games? Is this a result of telling our children they can't be spanked, and giving them too many choices? Maybe I'm being naive because I was young at the time, but I don't remember the 80s and 90s being quite this bad.

Sorry for the rant, but it was something I had to get off my chest. My heart goes out to the families of these two victims, and I hope their murderers get what they deserve. I also hope we will have a brighter future as a nation, because so far, things aren't looking so good.

What do you think? Is there something more we can do to stop these ridiculous murders from happening?