Note: This letter ran in the previous August 9, 2018 print edition.

To the editor:

I actually laughed out loud (LOL’d for those of a younger generation) at Michael Broughton’s letter on July 5. I could practically hear the shrill screech of his words through the newsprint.

Another typical kneejerk response from a Trump-a-phobe liberal who, if given the time and opportunity, is capable of blaming all of the world’s current calamities on our president.

He even pulled out a Ronald Reagan reference. Michael, that was the 1980s. It’s 2018. Move on.

The reality is mass shootings have been an unfortunate part of our society for over 70 years through multiple administrations, both Republican and Democrat.

The only real change is the media today has chosen to use these horrific events not as an opportunity to encourage reflection on ourselves and our society but as a club to beat the current object of their collective disdain, a process which creates more “victims” for them to use as ratings fodder and elevates the perpetrator to cult-hero status.

Anyone who believes any politician anywhere can solve this problem is living in a fool’s paradise.

This is a societal aberration of our own making that is the direct result of the assault and continued erosion of faith, the family and the basic fundamental teachings of right and wrong. So for all you who spend your days and nights convinced that the current administration or Reagan is responsible for all that ills in this country, I would suggest instead that you spend some time looking inward.

Or better yet, open the door to your child’s bedroom. Be nosy. Be a jerk. Examine their cell phone and internet history. Let them howl at the intrusion of their privacy. Actually be a parent and not a friend.

Then maybe, just maybe, a parent and not a politician will stop the next mass shooting.

Brian Volansky

Oakville