Paranoia and Guns in the American Psyche

By Daniel Keeran, MSW College of Mental Health Counseling www.collegemhc.com The College of Mental Health Counseling has prepared this discussion report to encourage the conversation about guns and mental health in America. Please distribute this report throughout all internet channels. In the wake of the tragic Connecticut shooting, the question may be asked, Could paranoia in the American psyche be part of the need for gun possession and resulting gun violence? ROOTS OF PARANOIA Basic fear and distrust can be a result of the personal experience of abuse, loss, addiction, anger, violence, or family breakdown affecting the child who brings this fear into his or her adult life and relationships. At the societal level, many people are afraid of personal assault, home invasion, or government tyranny and infringement of personal freedoms. This fear is entrenched in the Bill of Rights of the US Constitution written in the context of a violent Revolution against unjust taxation. In the extreme form, this fear has given rise to the militia movement and survivalism in which individuals and groups withdraw from society to train or even barricade and arm themselves for a possible violent attack. Others purchase and collect guns including assault weapons to defend against a perceived police state. What happens when this paranoid belief is shared by growing numbers of people? Religious liberty also contributed to the formation of the American state thought to have a divine mandate to protect life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness or financial success. God and guns are linked to patriotic zeal, marshaled against perceived threats to God-given rights. RESULTS OF PARANOIA As violent crime increases, it is understandable that fear and gun possession also increase, and this dynamic then leads to more violent crime. How can the spiral of violence be reversed? The outcome of fear and the spiral of violence is that more people (30,000 deaths per year) currently die from gun violence in the United States, than in any other location on earth, including war-torn regions. When paranoia or similar mental illness, is combined with anger and access to firearms, the outcome can be atrocious as we have witnessed in Newtown, Connecticut. The mother of Adam Lanza lived alone with her two sons and armed and trained her family to defend against a possible violent attack.

PART OF THE SOLUTION Part of the solution is to engage the conversation about the factors and elements described in this report. Perhaps from such a discussion can emerge a new mentality of community leading to attention to personal healing and to cooperative peace supported by a clearer boundary between the individual or family and the security infrastructure authorized to use firearms. The author, Daniel Keeran, MSW, has prepared numerous books, papers, and reports on mental health, theology, antiquity, philosophy, and counseling.