Good point, luna. That's why I don't believe in being mad at parents for everything that goes wrong in the lives of their children. If that were true, then everyone's problems could be traced back to Adam and Eve. (Wait a minute . . . isn't that what they told us in Sunday school? You know - original sin and all?)

Evolution used to mainly be about experimenting with different gene combinations. That's no longer true for humans. We no longer evolve to adapt to our environment. Instead, we control our environment and change it to suit how we are. Now, evolution is about experimenting with different ideas. Good people can have bad ideas . . . ideas that just don't work out. Adam Lanza's mother thought that immersing herself and her son in the gun culture would be a good outlet for the both of them. Going to the shooting range together has been a positive bonding experience for some parents and their children. It wasn't for the Lanza family of Newtown, CT. I suspect Adam's mother was a decent person who meant well. She knew her son was pretty disturbed. She cared deeply and worried greatly. (She told one sitter not to leave young Adam alone for even the time it takes to use the bathroom.) Maybe, in a world without violent video games, Adam might not have felt inspired to shoot up the local grammar school. Parents aren't the only source of the ideas that kids pick up. Kids pick up ideas, and their brains generate some ideas spontaneously. A brain left to itself can generate lots of bad ideas, which is why minds need to be fed a consistent diet of good ideas, especially when they are young and developing. Giving kids hugs isn't enough.

Most adults don't relish being alone without someone to love and be loved by. This mother was a woman who had not found her soul mate. That's a lonely way to live. So she brings a couple of kids into that scenario. She may naively have believed that her life would then feel less lonely. I don't know anyone raising a kid who thinks doing it alone is the way to go. Hardest job in the world and good to have a partner in doing it. I have no reason to doubt that impression that this woman is a good person. But I think she's got an approach to life that isn't working for her.