Do you really have to ask Open your eyes. The problem isn’t that the next mass murderer may be sitting right next to you, sleeping in your house, eating at your table, giving you every signal of desperation a person can give. The problem is you don’t want to see it. How else could a child become a psychologically twisted and emotionally alienated mass murderer, unnoticed by everyone Nobody gets that far gone without anyone noticing. We all recognize behavior that raises our concern.
We all know when someone is exceeding just weird. We see it happening and yet we ignore it, because if we don’t, we’ll have to take responsibility for doing something about it. We go to movies filled with violent portrayals of ourselves more as animals than as humans. We know it is the wrong message, but we ignore it, because if we don’t, we’ll have to take responsibility for doing something about it.
We watch television shows that portray us as vapid, meaningless cretins () incapable of intelce or kindness. We know it is the wrong message, but we ignore it, because if we don’t, we’ll have to take responsibility for doing something about it. We clap our hands and stamp our feet to the beat of songs whose lyrics would, if we saw them written on a piece of paper, scare the hell out of us. We know it is the wrong message, but we ignore it, because if we don’t, we’ll have to take responsibility for doing something about it. We trust movie stars whom we have confused with their movie roles when they tell us that owning handguns is patriotic. We know handguns serve only one purpose--to rid human beings of their lives, but we ignore it, because if we don’t, we’ll have to take responsibility for doing something about it.
We read books that tell us discipline equals love. So we demonstrate our "love" by suffocating (使窒息) our kids with a million rules and regulations. Instead of respecting them as individuals, we control them. Instead of getting to know them, we criticize everything they say and do. Instead of loving them unconditionally, we judge them. Children who are loved and respected are not emotionally alienated. Children who are loved and respected do not murder people. As parents, teachers, and human beings, we are responsible for the messages we send, the violence we condone(宽恕), and the children we raise.
Why does the author use quotation marks (Line 1, Par