America needs to talk about a lot more than just guns
-- Whether powerful prescription drugs might fuel these attacks because doctors, in cahoots with Big Pharma, overprescribe them;
-- Whether a fascination with guns is its own kind of psychosis, which distorts reality and trivializes lethalness;
-- Why so many of these mass shootings are committed by white males with troubled backgrounds;
-- How the red flags might have been brighter if, instead of a white male, the culprit were a Mexican, Muslim or MS-13'er;
-- How it is that the FBI bungled its investigation of Cruz, who was practically begging to be arrested;
-- How it is that, more than a year ago, a social worker from the Florida Department of Children and Families declared Cruz to be no threat;
-- How a teenager with lots of behavioral problems could so easily buy an AR-15 military-style rifle and ammunition;
-- Whether any number of these tragedies can break the vice grip that the National Rifle Association has on Congress;
-- And how we need to stop reflexively saying "something has to be done" and actually do something.
But what can we do? Looking over that list, there is a lot that needs to be done -- by many people and on multiple fronts. You can also see why Americans focus on guns. Some of the other issues are too difficult, too sensitive or too close to home.
And that is all the more reason to take them on.
========
Ruben Navarrette's email address is ruben@rubennavarrette.com. His daily podcast, "Navarrette Nation," is available through every podcast app.
(c) 2018, The Washington Post Writers Group
