Western Journal contributed more to the story about Sheriff Schmidt’s crucially important message:

“A Wisconsin sheriff sounded off on what he believes to be the “root cause” of mass shootings in the U.S, and called on parents to discipline their children more effectively.

Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt penned a Facebook post Thursday arguing that a major cause of mass shootings may be a radical culture shift that has occurred in the U.S. over the years — a culture shift caused by weak parenting.

“Following every mass killing, I ask myself, what has happened to our society?” Schmidt wrote. “I also wonder what the solution is to ensure our families do not become future victims.”

The Wisconsin sheriff pointed out how “years ago, people would go to school and have hunting rifles in their vehicles,” but “mass violence in schools and other locations did not happen as in society today.”

He added that there is a “root cause” fueling the drastic shift that has occurred over the years, and that “there is no quick and easy solution” to stop it.

“It’s my belief that the root cause starts with our youth lacking basic skills including respect for authority figures like parents and teachers, the ability to cope with conflict and the ability to handle rejection,” Schmidt stated.

Schmidt added that substance abuse and mental health problems are also a driving factor, but noted that “it is imperative that we raise our children in a manner that instills respect for authority.”

According to Schmidt, every child needs to face “disappointment” at some point in his or her life in order to build character and develop a basic understanding of how to handle adversity.

“While no one wants their child to ever be disappointed or upset, when they are young, they need to face conflict and disappointment and learn to resolve it appropriately under the guidance of adults,” the sheriff wrote.

He continued: “When youth are not taught how to handle difficult situations, they must find their own way to cope, which without guidance may result in unhealthy or even dangerous future behavior.”

Sheriff Schmidt nailed it. Today’s generation is being babied by weak parents who want to be “friends” with their children. They’re coddling them, giving them rewards for everything, spoiling them, and entitling the children to think they can do whatever they want. This isn’t true for all parents, but there’s a staggeringly high number of parents who just don’t know what they’re doing, and they’re mostly part of the reason their kids could turn out to be unsuccessful or probably become liberals.