Photo credit: http://www.abc.com (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Don’t let the title fool you. There are no words that can soothe, or comfort us, and no answers to the inexplicable massacre that killed 26 of our fellow human beings on Friday, 20 of them innocent babies. I don’t like to write about tragedies like this because I don’t feel words are enough to heal. And, there are way too many words spoken and not enough action.
My writing will be brief but what I want to say is that I feel that our country is under constant siege and we don’t recognize it. It was less than two years ago when we felt the same horror, shock and disbelief. The death of six innocent people and of the serious injuries sustained by U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, AZ was incomprehensible. Then, in July of this year, 12 people lost their lives and 58 were injured in another mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado. More grief, pain and disbelief. Now, Middletown, CT joins the list of communities that have suffered the types of mass shootings that are slowly but surely killing our society. After each horrible shooting, we mourn, we send flowers, teddy bears, money, we cry for the victims, but nothing changes. Are we becoming desensitized? The pundents fill the air waves with comments about the need for stricter gun laws and, on the opposite side, the need to keep good people armed to stop the criminals. But, as soon as the next big news story hits, we go back to what we were doing and nothing changes. Like the killings, the fact that we are not addressing this issue just doesn’t make any sense. In my opinion, the real enemy of our American way of life and of our values is right here within our own borders. I don’t know what to call it – apathy, short-attention span, selective memory, inertia, feelings of powerlessness, failure to launch – why doesn’t our emotional outpouring translate to a call for action? Why aren’t we pushing on congress for better gun controls? Isn’t this the country that roots for the the little guys? Don’t we cheer when the underdog comes from behind and beats the big goliath? What is it going to take for us to say enough and demand change for stricter gun laws and ban assault weapons?
Guns/assault weapons are the visible protagonist. But, unfortunately behind each weapon that has taken innocent lives has been a lost human being. It’s difficult to feel compassion for the people who committed such unspeakable acts. But, before they were killers they were people who got left behind, pushed to the back, and whose silent screams for help were ignored. They were dead before they even got there. How could we have helped them so that the loss of lives could have been prevented? Why aren’t we raising money for more research, education and supportive services for the mentally ill and their families. How can we better educate people about depression? What are we doing to protect kids and adulsts from bullying? How can we as a society be better informed so that we can recognize those silent screams for help? If we don’t demand change now, it is possible that all of us will experience a mass shooting in our lifetime.
Change happens slowly, but it can happen if we start and if we are relentless in its pursuit. If we have to call, write to or visit our local and national representatives every day that is what we should do. We should question every politician asking for our vote about what he or she will do to prevent mass shootings in our communities, and then hold them accountable. We will have relinquished our power as a people if we wait to see what politicians do. We have to be engaged and push for a solution. If you have ideas about how we make this terrible tragedy a call to action to, once and for all, change our gun and mental health laws and policies, please share them with your reply to this post.
Much Love,
Yaya Speaks 