Hank Sanders: Senate Sketches #1487: The poisonous roots of violence in America

  The contrasts were great. Non-violence taught, but violence implemented. History of violence shunned, but current violence shared widely. Symbols of non-violence known all over the world, but the massive reality of violence unknown. The contrasts were so great.

  This week led up to the 150th anniversary of the end of chattel slavery in the United States of America. This slavery was the world’s most violent and inhumane. The Selma Center for Non-Violence, Truth and Reconciliation was holding a Week of History and Healing commemorating the end of slavery. But the media was full of violence in San Bernadino, Calif. where 14 human beings were murdered and 21 injured. The contrasts were so great.

Jacob G. Hornberger: The cause of our violent and drug-ridden society

  We Americans live in a violent society, one in which there are lots of homicides, family abuse, mass murders of people, and other acts of violence.

  We also live in a drug-ridden society. The war on drugs has been an absolute failure when it comes to dissuading Americans from using drugs. The number of people taking illicit drugs has to be inordinately high. Otherwise there would be no reason to continue the drug war. Add to that the countless Americans suffering from alcoholism. And now the feds are cracking down on prescription drug abuse, given the large numbers of Americans moving in that direction.