29th May 2022

 Modern media allows us a bird’s eye view of catastrophic events happening around the world, and of how old-style cultures continue unabated. From school shootings in the US to the atrocities happening in Ukraine, people force themselves - for all sorts of reasons - to justify the unjustifiable. Writers have an unparalleled, ‘bird’s eye’, opportunity to cut through some of these ‘closed minds’, in the hope of bringing more sense to the world. When An Englishwoman in America was published three years ago, I included a serious chapter about the differences between UK gun laws and the US. Here’s the bald data:
Dunblane, Scotland. 26 years ago. A school shooting.  National response: a major crackdown on national gun laws. Number of UK school shootings since then: Zero.
USA. During the same 26 years, US national response to school shootings. Number of major changes to national gun laws or modernisation of 2nd Amendment:  Zero.  Number of recorded school shootings in the US: 245!

Everyone gets angry at times. It’s vital therefore that ordinary citizens can’t then reach for a lethal weapon. A punch on the nose means you get up again afterwards!
Click the icons on the right to read books on how citizens of Germany, France, Poland, UK, India/Scotland, China/Japan dealt with anger. Conclusion: If an embedded cultural practice in your country is continually causing the death of innocent people, get rid of it.