The sadness surrounding the Sandy Hook school incident is uncomfortably predictable. The response to this tragedy includes a typical heyday for the media, followed by a huge outpouring of anguish.

Couldn’t this event be more of an exploration of something constructive and helpful? I believe Leo Ray Ingle’s Dec. 21 letter (“Our own handiwork”) has clearly identified how our society has moved in the wrong direction in dealing with senseless violence (“Having eliminated most services for the mentally ill”).

How about some constructive coverage on creative mental health programs (are there any)? San Luis Obispo is not immune to this problem. What can be done to improve the situation besides numbing people with medication? How might things be different if someone actually took the time to reach out to Adam Lanza? They say he rarely spoke in public or in school? Let’s start thinking about those in need and how we can help them before they lose control. Unfortunately, our system is rigidly set up only to help after someone has gone off the deep end (when they are an obvious threat to themselves or others). This is a huge problem that needs revisiting and creative thinking.