Thursday 10/01/15, another day, another mass shooting in America. The usual flare up of more gun laws or no change. The mental health issue, on and on and on. Of the 7 billion people on the planet, why am I still the only one who sees the problem as stemming from dichotomous/black-and-white thinking?  Why am I the only person who see the problem as a victory of the reptilian brain over the cortex?

What more evidence is needed? Does it get any more reptilian than shooting a bunch of innocent people? Is there any better example of the disconnect between action and achieving “whatever.”

What if children were taught at an early age there are 2 brains BIG (solves problems, achieves goals) and LITTLE (feels and only thinks in black-and-white)? What if this distinction were re-enforced through out life? Every time an adult does something stupid, the explanation is “They were thinking with their little brain instead of their big brain” What if every victory of the reptilian brain over the cortex were routinely identified as such? Is there any chance this might decrease the incidence of gun violence? Is there any chance the question “What will this really accomplish?” will come up before the shooting?

Yes there is a need to keep guns out of the hands of individuals with dangerous psychiatric diagnoses. It is also true that there are clinical conditions that seem to only respond to medications. But in those cases where gun violence stems from some form of deranged attempt at achieving a goal, I urge you to consider that pubic discussion and a deeper understanding of how thought processes become so deranged will help more than any form of legislation.