Sometimes, a story comes together with kinetic beauty. An idea emerges, and with a minimum of fuss, it is done. Today’s lead article was not one of those stories. 

That’s not criticism. Rather, it is a product of the subject: the roots of violence. American conversations about gun violence – particularly mass shootings ­– often revolve around gun laws and mental health.

But the closer we looked, the more we saw something else. There is no single “gun violence problem” in the United States, but different challenges in different places. And within these trends, one sticks out for its clarity and constancy: The American South has dramatically higher levels of violence. Why?

In traveling to Nashville, Tennessee, and Alexander City, Alabama, Noah Robertson and Patrik Jonsson sought to show different faces of violence in the South, in large cities and rural hamlets, without falling into stereotypes or shallow narratives. To ensure he got the story right, Patrik went back a second time. 

What we found was a portrait not of policies or legislative bills, but of an underlying mental landscape and how that has led to higher rates of violence. But that same rule applies to all regions – in the U.S. and around the world. The roots of violence everywhere are as much mental as political, influenced by culture and values. Finding answers will be impossible without understanding those deeper forces. And that takes a lot of work. 

Today’s lead story, as arduous as it was, is an attempt to do that – to understand an important part of America just a little bit better, to help open the door to progress for all.