How do we stop the violence?

I've been in Pennsylvania visiting my ailing father for a month. It seems that nearly every day, there is a shooting incident involving teens and young adults. Two weeks ago, a young man who just graduated from high school and was heading to college next month was shot and killed by two 17 year-old twins s because he would not give them his father's car. This was a good kid, star athlete and student who was simply picking up his girlfriend's cousin to take to a baseball games. A friend just returned from the funeral of another good kid who was shot in random violence in Philadelphia. I'm sure you can change the name of the city and of the victim and repeat this story for almost every major city in the country.

What's wrong? Why do our children see violence as the answer, as the solution to everything? Some say that they don't value life, neither theirs nor their victims. Others say that it's the result of a violent culture evidenced by video games, violent movies and videos and even rap music. Still others say that our children learn violence in the home. Many parents still think it appropriate to whip or spank their children, despite numerous studies that talk about the message hitting sends to young children. We slap or hit our children for something they've done "wrong," yet we act surprised when they hit Little Johnny when Little Johnny doesn't do something they want him to do.

And it's just not teenagers and young adults who are doing the killing. Men are killing their wives AND their children, and often then kill themselves.

What do we do? How can we stop the madness, the violence?