The Devil Made Him Do It

Nothing angers me more than parents who refuse to take responsibility for their actions. Say it with me: Bad parents ruin our classrooms, our community, our country.

Any drug addict, recovering whack job, troubled teenager or evil corporate whore will tell you the same thing: mommy and daddy suck.

I’m not saying I buy such an excuse from adults, because I don’t. Build a bridge, folks. However, we can learn a thing or two about the destructive decisions parents make and then our classrooms, our community, and our country will be a whole lot better because of it.

And safer.

But most people feel better blaming others because such deflection is easier and frees them from any and all accountability.

Speaking of which…

Ronald and Loretta Murray graced James Dobson’s radio program yesterday and today with crazy talk about their son and what might have driven him to murder.

At first, I was thrilled to see his parents come forward and answer serious questions about the tragedy. Then I remembered – it’s James Dobson, people.

And so it went.

Let’s see – the Murrays blamed their son’s violent rampage on his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, bitterness for being an outcast, and Satan.

This line of reasoning, if one can call it that, holds the parents responsible for nothing.

Nothing.

Because they prayed.

How convenient.

This was a young man homeschooled since first grade, drugged with Ritalin since age 5, and who ultimately raged against the strict Biblical curriculum his parents used. He lived at home and even slept in his own bed the night after killing kids in Arvada and before driving to The Springs the next morning to kill some more.

His parents never had a clue. They didn’t realize he was armed and dangerous. They didn’t realize a whole lot about the son who lived and learned with them since childhood. The Murrays were dangerously clueless about a child they claimed to love and pray for every day.

And so what can we learn? Nothing, according to the Murrays .

Nothing except the power of forgiveness bestowed upon them by the victims’ family. The victims’ family also forgave the killer right away.

Guided by Christ’s love and all.

Apparently, there is absolutely nothing we can do about angry children who kill. Because of Satan. So keep studying that Bible! Worked so well for the Murrays , didn’t it?

The people buying this particular brand of bullshit are the same people who would be yelling from the rooftops about the importance of fathers if these killers were black and living in the inner city. Yet white, middle-class parents fail to see the part they are playing in all of this.

Self-delusion would be funny if it didn’t hurt so many of us.

I’m not surprised that two families devoted to evangelical Christianity aren’t interested in self-awareness, an honest evaluation of irresponsible parenting or an intelligent conversation about the effects of their faith on the unhinged among them.

But doesn’t their blind cluelessness just continue to let bad parents off the hook?

Again.

How convenient.