Trumpet, harp, bagpipe melodies intertwined with parental tears and bloody childhood screams haunt memories of what might have been, if only.
Without united commitment to the courage, though come lately, to pledge allegiance to follow the example of principal, teachers, children, first responders and parents on Friday December 14, 2012, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Connecticut…
…“What is Past is Prologue.”
I’m no fan of NRA, gun lobbyists, or even wheel chaired hunters shooting excess deer in Virginia. Nor am I overly fond of those who “favor more strict gun laws,” but only speak of it right after the innocent lie dead in their workplace, parking lot, neighborhood theater or school classrooms.
Like most nations, America was born out of and into violence, and like most things, we excel at it. Nonetheless, we are not alone in the practice of choosing acts of violence against the innocent, or in mourning too often, too late. Many nations and people experience loss by violent death.
Notably, with possible exception of preemptive strikes on free of 9/11 involvement Iraq, our government rarely moves forward without a pushy governed. Yet in tragedy, as triumph, humanity embraces us as we are engulfed in the common tears of horrible devastation. None are immune. Even the planet we share is diminished by our devouring excesses, greed and ignorance that fail prioritizing life, health and peace.
The madness of abandonment to weapons as solutions kills every day. Though, much street crime, wars on drugs, battlefields and domestic violence can only be anticipated, but not prevented, Left and Right of “We the People” must lead Government to sensible center and rational regulation of which guns are made easily available on American streets.
Then, following example of Dawn Hochsprung, formalize training and drilling until we know we’ve done all we can do to prevent the violent death of children before their parents, without arming school guards.
Let not a click of a mouse signed petition be your “done,” leaving the self-sacrificing action in time of peril to the defenseless, and their protection to the enthusiastic gun totting influencers and smallness of lawmakers.
Let us pledge with actions that limit what gun dealerships can sell to whom: hunting rifles to those who must kill animals for fun, hand guns locked safely in homes for those who feel need for castle protection, but neither Michigan’s publically concealed weapons in schools nor Ohio cars parked at the ready, packing.
Let us listen with more than our ears, until we can perceive and act on the danger of a Nancy Lanza raising an emotionally disturbed and mentally unhealthy child with weapons more suited to Fort Hood than Newtown. Then as community, assist both mother and child to find healthier alternatives, to gunning down.
Now, let us stand the firing squads before community mirrors, with their adrenaline pumping as ejected bullets pump into flesh for the kill. Make them target their Dorian Gray reflection, accompanied by family value dirge underscoring their gun lobby for fun hobby souls.
With thirty-six gun dealerships within a ten mile radius of Sandy Hook; with eighty-five Americans dying every day from gun violence at three an hour; with a gun considered perfect Christmas gift on Black Friday 2012; we can no longer claim unashamed, that this is the responsibility of any President of NRA or America, alone.
Talk is cheap, after the slaughter. Whether we go to church or bars seeking answers to “why,” we miss the point – the solution is in our mirrors: “the failure’s not in God, it’s in me.”
In 2013, every township, Statehouse, and community outreach must choose who America immolates: Cain or Abel.
NRA must man up with more than “No Comment.”
Mental health deserves more than a pill.
Victims of gun violence need more than a robotic “our thoughts and prayers” when hugs are no more.
(Originally published at thereasonablevoice.com on December 17th, 2012)