Since the Newtown shootings, the right has blamed a lack of God in the classroom (see our recent post on Mike “I used to be the smart conservative” Huckabee) while nearly everyone else has been blaming American gun culture.

I think both sides are victims of a kind of mass hysteria. Remember when juvenile delinquency was caused by rock & roll? Then by comic books? Then by video games? I think in frightening times, we latch onto simple explanations that confirm our preconceived world view.

But Liza Long, mother of a child given to violent outbursts, has written movingly about how hard it is for the families of such kids — mostly boys — to get  the help they need.

‘I Am Adam Lanza’s Mother’: A Mom’s Perspective On The Mental Illness Conversation In America.