Letter to the editor: Root cause of our violence is nihilistic society

With regard to the recent murders of television reporters and police officers, I’m reflecting, that as a youth, these incidents were exceedingly rare — yet even as children, there was ample access to firearms.

As a doctor who regularly treats trauma patients, the root cause of our violence is abundantly clear. Hence, I take issue with numerous reporters ignoring our progressively nihilistic society, in favor of asking, “What do we do about guns?” If we fail to ask the right questions, we will never find the best answers. The telling question is, “Where are we going as a society?”

Our mental health system is failing, our family values are eroding, and our violent entertainment is expanding. This is a terrible trio that devalues the blessing of human life. No law can restore how we, as a society, value human life. We must start focusing on our problems, rather than our tools.

Gary Gonsalves, M.D.,Carlsbad, CA