“We can’t tolerate this anymore. These tragedies must end. And to end them, we must change. We will be told that the causes of such violence are complex, and that is true. No single law — no set of laws can eliminate evil from the world, or prevent every senseless act of violence in our society. But that can’t be an excuse for inaction.” ~ President Barack Obama, December 16, 2012 in honor of the victims of the shootings at Sandy Hill Elementary.
This link contains a list of the people murdered this week in Las Vegas. Take a good look now… see their faces, and read their stories. News cycles (fake or not) in 2017 are shorter, and these people will all be forgotten by the weekend. Like the names and faces of Orlando, Virginia Tech and Sandy Hook.
Gone, and quickly forgotten.
We have to move on because the world is chock full of interesting stories – some that inspire, some that make you sad, and some that scare the crap out of you. North Korea will be back in the news, as well as BREAKING NEWS Russian-election-collusion stories. Khloe Kardashian’s pregnancy must be analyzed. Big World Cup Qualifier match for the USA tonight, and there’s an Eagles game this weekend! Jeez… I hope no one kneels.
My attention span is short too. When I look back on my social media this week I see posts and comments about soccer, Puerto Rico, Tom Petty, flights to Ireland… and just a few things about our President. I posted some cartoons and videos about guns too, but not to be funny.
There are lots of things going on. Who can keep up? It’s just human nature, so we should be forgiven if we can’t continue to focus on just 58 lives out 322,000,000 plus in our great country.
Umm… No.
I remember the Sandy Hook school shootings and the sadness we felt. I remember the beautiful words above from President Obama and all of the other lawmakers. And then nothing was done. Nothing. Twenty children were brutally murdered that day, and our country did nothing. Those children were just a number… like the Orlando 49, the Virginia Tech 32, and now the Vegas 58.
Are we all just numbers?
Maybe we should be honest for a change. Let’s remove those “Prayers For Las Vegas” Facebook and Twitter photos. If nothing is going to be done, we should save our prayers and good thoughts for other things.
Keep making those awesome 2nd Amendment arguments, and the classic – “Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.” And let’s stop the sideshow Rose Garden moments of silence by the first families because their heads are dealing with spinning policy to protect their jobs, not grief.
We should keep supporting the NRA, the gun lobby that says they support gun owners but only exist because of gun manufacturers.
Since the number of mass shootings in America is so, so offensive, let’s debate the exact amount of people dying that makes it an official “mass” shooting event. Four isn’t enough for a good statistic… ten is a better number. Problem solved!
We should be posting more clever memes about how lack of mental health care and parental discipline is the real problem, and more prayer – not gun control – will stop people from being killed.
Most importantly, we should all keep our fingers crossed that the next massacre is somewhere else. Some other person’s neighborhood or workplace. And that our friends and family members are not in the next set of numbers.
Or we can speak out.
All assault rifles, ammunition, and supplies should be illegal. Automatic, semi-automatic, bump stock, tripod, high capacity magazines… everything. Immediately. Period. It should be illegal to sell them and a crime to possess these items. If you have them, too bad. Turn them in or go to jail. It is as simple as that.
As simple as pulling a trigger.
If you disagree, please say it out loud for everyone to hear. All of your friends should know and clearly understand that you have a basic disregard for human life. Not speaking out against these dangerous weapons makes you part of the problem. I will no longer be part of the problem.
And if you are denying that this is the biggest danger we face as a country, or you are actively taking a position against gun control – that makes you a murderer.
As the Father of the Groom, I am obviously excited to be part of this wonderful celebration. But I have stayed in the background through most of this process. There have been reception decisions, food tastings, dress fittings, showers, etc. I have endeavored NOT to be Father of the Groom-ZILLA! And I think I’ve succeeded.
Over the past ten years or so, I have seen and heard some crazy stuff coming from my basement… and I know these guys have been responsible. Myself, my wife and Colin will be sad when Johnny is no longer in our home. But some people will be very happy… the guys who pick up our recycling every week! There will be a substantial weight drop in beer bottles alone.
New Family – Last night, I officially welcomed the Cervinos into my family.
Mother And Son – One of the best moments in a person’s life is the realization that their parents are proud of them. To this day, when something positive happens in my life, I think about calling my Mom and Dad
That was our first glimpse of Anya and the beginning of a journey that shifts into high gear tomorrow.
He wishes…
Back to the Kairos weekend where John and Anya met… we were asked to write a brief letter describing John for that weekend, and this is what I wrote.
The Beautiful Game – One of the things John and I have together is soccer. In fact, he is responsible for my love of the game because he played as a kid and I was his coach. We are Philadelphia Union supporters, we are Sons of Ben. He also supports Arsenal, but I can always look back at this photo on the right for hope.
Some Irish and a Toast – Today is Saint Patrick’s Day, and I would be remiss if I didn’t honor my heritage. It is not a coincidence that Anya and Johnny picked this weekend for their wedding.
I tend to “friend” people haphazardly. If you reach out to me, and we have a few friends in common, I’ll usually make the connection. I’m always eager to expand my network. But once a year – usually in January – I trim down the list.
I’m not a fan of celebrity. I respect and appreciate the talents of actors, musicians or sports figures, and anyone who excels in their chosen fields. Are you an expert on politics because you’ve won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy or a Super Bowl? Um… no. I don’t tune in to a movie or sporting event to hear the news or political opinions. I’m escaping from that stuff.
For the past eight years, I’ve had that with Barack Obama.
Many years ago I was sitting in pizza place with some friends, in a loud conversation ripping into then-President Ronald Reagan. A man sitting next to us interjected, “Gentlemen, I understand your points about these issues. You have every right to disagree, but do it respectfully. I’m a former Marine, and I will always respect my Commander-In-Chief. I will always respect the office of the President of the United States.”
I accused Donald Trump of a few not-so-great things in this election, and I still disagree with most of his positions. He successfully targeted a portion of the electorate that had lost faith in their government, and I certainly respect that. But his campaign and presentation over the past fifteen months revealed dark things about some of our people, and beliefs that I thought were less prevalent or refused to acknowledge. There is a small, but significant population of our country – some in public, some hiding – that embrace hate. It fuels and guides them. And I’m sad to say that some are people I know.
Over the past year I have spoken out against Donald Trump for his erratic behavior and divisive words. I do hope that I was as wrong about him as I was wrong about the election. I joked last week that I personally don’t have to worry too much. I’m solid middle class, and my wife works in healthcare so our insurance is not bad. I’m white, and though I am not religious I was raised in a Christian family. I also joked that President-elect Trump seems to be already softening his stance on some of the hot button issues, so maybe I should have voted for him!