Causes of Horrific Violence

There is a scene in No Country for Old Men in which an old man, a wizened retired law man, is reflecting on the troubles facing the world in which he lives. Lamenting these intractable and persistent problems, he says “This country is hard on people.” A more concise and prescient epidemiological statement could scarcely be made.

What Causes Violence?

Since the tragedy at Sandy Hook, there has been much debate about the causes of horrific violence. As is often the case when we are bewildered beyond comprehension, we search for singular explanations, I suppose because they are comforting in their singularity. Availability of military style assault weapons with large capacity magazines, the NRA itself, a failing mental health system, and even those of us with mental health issues have all been targeted. It would be nice if it were that simple. If anything is clear at all, it is that violence is over-determined in its causation. That is, it is the result of a great many factors colliding all at once in space and time, by which I mean this country of America in particular.

Volcanologists tell us that there are warnings prior to an eruption. There are tremors and gasses and, perhaps analogous to this essay, a swelling “dome” of earth and rock in the center of the volcano. In this psychologist’s humble opinion, the eruption warnings have been in our view for some time now. The angry dome consists of global conflict, economic instability, widening gaps between wealthy and poor, intense levels of stress at home and work, harsh and shrill communication patterns in polarized groups, unbridled aggression in full bloom in all media, abject dissolution and corruption among our leaders of every stripe, easily available means of retribution, inadequate or absent systems of support, and much more I am certain. Reasonably healthy individuals are challenged to maintain psychic equilibrium when confronted with this kind of reality. Further, the vulnerable among us are likely to collapse under such psychological strain. An easily available method, like violence, which can rapidly restore an internal rubric of balance, no matter how distorted it may be, can be very appealing. The vulnerable, especially the young, are the canaries in the coal mine, and they are telling us there is something seriously wrong with our world.

Yes, this country is too hard on people. If we hope to address this multifaceted societal ill, we simply must have richer conversations about cultural dis-ease, and set about building consensus and problem solving. More violent eruptions will occur if we fail.

Your comments and observations are welcomed below.

This article was written by Dr. Lee Keyes, a counseling psychologist and the Executive Director of the Counseling Center at the University of Alabama. He is a past president of the Alabama Psychological Association and is on the Board of Directors of the International Association of Counseling Services, Inc. Dr. Keye's full bio is available here. He is also author of the College Mental Health Blog.

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