<unedited, authentic>
The news came fast- another school shooting in Colorado. The same state of Chuck E Cheese, Columbine, the Aurora Movie Theatre, and now another school. More children traumatized. More questions with no answers. We are not the only state to experience these tragedies. As a native Coloradan, you can believe our hearts continue to break, and the pain does not get easier. However, our anger escalates and our minds are racing.
As details continue to emerge, I ask one question:
What happened to respect for life?
When people, adults or children, can walk into any facility and open fire on innocent human beings, there is a disconnect in humanity. The brain is malfunctioning and the consequences are astronomical.
Soon we will hear every news outlet in the country report the situation, and people will shake their head, sad and wondering, why?
People will ignite the debate on weapons, specifically guns. Some will even blame the object. The truth is irresponsible gun ownership is a problem in this country, it shouldn’t be denied. The irresponsible finger that pulls the trigger is the problem in a mass murder. The irresponsible amateur bomb maker is a problem after a mass explosion. So on..
Those debates come and go, some laws change. Cities crack down and push extreme gun laws, yet they have the worst crime. Why? The bigger picture is clear, the problem is a heart with no compassion or care for another heart beating, and the mind that has no respect for the laws of a civilized country. These horrific crimes are committed by people. People are the problem!
I am angry. Every day I send my grandchildren to school with hopes they will be safe. We teach them to care for their fellow students, every student! We teach them kindness, decency, respect, and obedience, and discipline. My grandson just helped his sister with her homework. She colored the picture with the wrong color and said she wanted to use brown. He instructed her that just because she wants to use brown, doesn’t mean she can. (Simple, right?) These are basic lessons we all teach our kids. We hope every lesson will be engraved in their mind for the long haul.
I know most parents are doing the same thing in teaching their children, so where is the disconnect? What is the agenda in this progress-centered country? If we have so little respect for a heart beating in the womb, why would there be respect for a heart beating anywhere? Is this ‘new’ world we live in what we expected? I spoke with my mother today and she mentioned not experiencing one school shooting when she was in school, not one. As we hurt for these families personally affected, we agree things have taken a turn for the worse in America.
People are unable to drive down the road without flipping someone off. Parents get in altercations at their child’s athletics games. Parents blame teachers when their child refuses to do their school work or listen in class. Children bully one another to the point of suicide. We prescribe medication to fix, well everything. Depression is an epidemic, we are embattled in an opioid crisis. Our prisons are overcrowded because the concept of consequences for your actions escaped many. We blame the law rather than the one who broke it. Our system needs work, don’t misunderstand me. However, common sense says follow the laws and you won’t go to jail.
People are the problem. Individuals with evil and selfish intentions are the problem. For the most part, this is a screwed up heart and a screwed up mind combination that is a problem!
So in the days ahead consider the fact that the number of mass tragedies has, in fact, increased. Consider the lack of empathy, compassion, respect, and decency we encounter in the street and on the screen. Consider the marches that take place for selfish desires (there are many out there).
In the end, we will still be stranded in the unknown with a “Why?” .. But maybe the conversation can move further than we ever imagined. Maybe the change we all hope for will begin because it started with us.
Authentic Truths 