That may be the greatest over-simplification in the history of presidential responses. It suggests that perpetrators of violence did not know that it is wrong to hurt and kill, a most far-fetched scenario. But it is clear that society is teaching children that violence is a valid means of resolving conflict. The lessons of violence, from whatever their sources, are in some children overwhelming all of the other messages about tolerance, respect and diversity. Unfortunately, children are not the only ones learning that lesson.
Road rage is but one manifestation of a society where fuses are getting shorter.
One need only look at the local police blotter to see weekly lists of assaults, harassment and other crimes of intense anger. All of the proposed solutions are aimed at institutions, but the greatest hope of preventing violence is in the homes of parents who know what their children are doing, who their friends are, how things are going in their lives and how they are feeling. A troubled youngster should be able to talk to his or her parents, but too many kids come from homes where there is no dialogue between parent and child. The lack of communication crosses racial, cultural and economic lines. It's rampant in the inner cities and in the suburbs, among the poor, the middle class and the rich.