President Obama is right, adding more guns won’t solve the problem of mass killings that flare up almost weekly in America and now around the world. But by implication, he is suggesting that subtracting guns from society can solve the problem, but that’s where I think he is wrong or simply doing the delicate dance of a politician.

Speaking at an annual corporate meeting the CEO of a famous power tool corporation shocked the assembly when he stated that their customers do not want the company’s power drills, the sales of which were soaring. After repeating the statement and pausing for effect, the CEO clarified: what people really want is a hole.

The problem in America is not gun violence. The problem in America is a culture of violence of which gun violence is just an expression. And like the customers of power drills, we should specify that what we want is not a reduction of guns, but a reduction of violence. And then the dialog changes.

It seems that Americans from birth are bathed in violence and desensitized to it. We glamorize violence and pay for revenge in the form of masculine mode movies. We demand justice and hold peace ransom to obtain it. If we really wanted to reduce violence (and therefore gun violence) we would:

• Be critical of the media who, every day, bring violence into our living rooms from across the planet. WARNING: Contains graphic content—a warning summarily ignored by Americans who need to see Jihadi John decapitate someone with a knife. With the ubiquity of cameras, now everyone can upload violence to the internet whether it is an act of terror or a couple of school girls doing a beat down on another.
• Be critical of Hollywood rather than dine their dignitaries at the White House. When Quentin Tarantino depicts graphic violence to foment social unrest, does one really wonder why a person on the edge will turn to guns to act out? An episode of Hawaii-Five-O illustrates the hypocrisy: Steve and Danny are questioning a gun shop owner when the show takes a moment through the character of detective Danny Williams to add commentary to guns and gun freaks. And yet episode after episode, we can watch the same “heroes” open fire with automatic weapons, shotguns and state of the art small arms dispensing “justice” off the radar and away from the lawful rules of engagement. And we approve and tune in again.
• Be exemplary of the rule of law. We have an increasing number of laws in America, not because we are lawful, but because we are lawless. When the President and leaders decide that laws can be broken without reprisal or that certain laws are not worth enforcing, he takes matters into his own hands. Likewise, when we make unilateral decisions about right and wrong why would it shock us when edge cases decide to do the same thing with the only power they can appropriate? If our “democratic” government takes the law into its own hands and molds it to suite political and social needs so will everyone else. Ask yourself: are you lawless? Do you decide what laws apply to your life and which ones don’t and then act accordingly? This philosophy is the embryo of the maverick and the lone shooter. And we endorse it.
• Eradicate the immense multi-billion-dollar porn industry. If the left were vocal about the reduction and control of pornographic material, I might be vocal about gun control. But it will never happen because the access to adult entertainment is some sort of victimless “right” that everyone is entitled to. Even liberal Chris Hedges in his book “Empire of Illusion” understands the violent and militant use of pornography. It desensitizes people, mostly men, and destroys a noble view of people, mostly women. It is correlated to violence in society (search for studies on the internet and you will find many with this unanimous conclusions) and what does the president do about it—a president that wants us to view everyone with equanimity and dignity?
• Abolish abortion, euthanasia. We destroy people on both ends of the vector of life and somehow, expect that our culture–the air we all breathe–to not be coarsened. When we adopt a utilitarian society, life is cheap and the message imbues us. It permeates society and those who would take matters into their own hands.
• Not cultivate a moral and spiritual vacuum. Our increasingly atheistic worldview creates a moral fluidity where immoral acts can either be redefined or conducted with impunity. As Dostoyevsky observed, if there is no God, everything is permitted. With ones back against a wall, one might act out violently if there is no eternal consequence to one’s action. If we do not have to account for our actions, ultimately, we create an atmosphere where everything is permitted. So don’t be outraged.
• Repudiate our celebrity worshipping culture. When our gold standard is celebrity and one’s fate is obscurity, infamy becomes an option. The Columbine massacres were conducted by students that had been done violence through bullying in a climate condoned by the school authorities. Would gun control have prevented Columbine? Maybe. But if we eradicated our increasingly toxic celebrity culture, the event would not have entered the mind. Many a media outlet refuses to name the assailant in the hopes that such acts of quick celebrity would not be repeated. But it’s no use, the ratings are too important. And the deed is repeated.
• Not demand gun control. It seems whenever there is a loud call for gun control legislation, gun sales, like power drills, skyrocket. Why? Because our culture is violent and maverick, our democracy has always been antagonistic toward government, and our leaders don’t boost public trust. If no one is doing anything about our culture of violence, many feel they need to keep it at bay themselves since the government cannot. Hence, more gun purchases and carry permits.

If we focus on the things that create a culture of violence we may not need to cry out for gun control. Don’t ponder the need for a drill when what we really want is a hole in the wall.