On Monday night, 8 students were shot at Michigan State
University. Three of them died. In
Tuesday morning’s newspaper, this got a 7” x 4” write-up on Page 4. In Wednesday’s paper, it got the top half of
Page 5. Sadly, mass shootings are no
longer front page news in a society that glorifies guns and is enamored with
violence. It’s just another day in America where innocent and promising lives
are lost to this senselessness.
I almost went to Michigan State for college. I was accepted but it was my 2nd
choice, and I got into my first choice.
One of my good friends here in California graduated from MSU. Violence hits
home for people who have a relationship to the place in which it occurs. If you haven’t been to that school, that
dance hall, that grocery store, that concert hall, that church, that beauty
salon, that movie theatre—well, at the rate we are going, eventually all of us
will be able to say “Oh My God, I know that place.” I’d venture to guess that most of us already
personally know someone affected by gun violence, whether by murder, suicide or
injury. I can count three. If you don’t know anyone, you’re lucky—and likely
a rarity. But, sooner or later, you will.
Because it’s not going to stop. After every shooting, politicians and victims
families say the same thing: ‘We can no longer allow this to happen’. If we didn’t care enough when twenty 6-year
olds were killed 10+ years ago, I have little hope of anything changing
now. I don’t know what the answer is,
but obviously, thoughts and prayers aren’t working. Banning assault rifles and
multi-round magazines is a good start. Enacting federal gun laws is crucial. Having patchwork laws state by state is
ridiculous when you can bring anything across state lines. Figuring out why a
society is spiraling into mental health crises and out of control drug
addiction is paramount. And voting out politicians beholden to the NRA is
necessary if we really don’t want this to continue. Register and vote! And pray for change—so we don’t have to pray
for victims anymore.
