Violence

I wish to bring to your attention an example of the way we invigorate the endemic problem of violence in our society unconsciously. The headline on page 7 of the January 19 issue read, “Medical Groups Pledge to Fight Youth Violence.” I wonder if the reader at first blush can see what the problem is in such a headline. Of course, it is the fact that we are going to take on a problem called youth violence by fighting it.

The problem with our society in general is that we believe that fighting is a useful tactic in problem solving. On one hand, we abhor violence, but on the other hand fighting is the problem-solving technique of choice for intractable problems. How can we teach youth to find other ways of solving problems if we model violence? The war on drugs might just as well be the war on youth violence or the war on Alzheimer’s disease or the war on diabetes. Aggressive language and aggressive concepts permeate our culture and our mental health language.

While I can but shine a small light on this issue, it is incumbent on all of us to come to recognize not only the language that we use, but also the problem-solving techniques that we use in trying to solve difficult problems.