Sensible
Gun Control
“This
world's anguish is no different from the love we insist on holding
back.”
Aberjhani
(Elemental: The Power of Illuminated Love)
Nothing in me this
morning wants to write about the mass shooting in Thousand Oaks,
California. I find myself at a loss for words to describe how I feel
about having a mass shooting every single week. It's all been said.
We've all developed a cast iron armor that allows the cries of
anguished parents and children to be deflected. It's how I imagine
people who live in war zones feel. Survival requires that we shut
down our feelings.
Refusing to feel,
however, is a luxury we simply cannot afford. We can not sit idly by
while our children are shot dead. Those of us with a conscience, and
I believe with all my heart that is most of us—if I didn't, I
simply could not stay here another minute—must act in whatever way
we can. We cannot become complacent about mass murder. When we do, we qualify as robots, not human beings.
I confess that I don't
have much sympathy for people who are in love with their guns. I know
there are those who feed their families by hunting, and that I do
understand—but the simple love of guns, especially automatic
weapons, is beyond the pale in my world view. And, it is
incomprehensible that someone would walk into a bar, or a synagogue,
or a church, or a stadium and simply start shooting anything that
moves. Even more incredible is having our elected leaders stand in
the hallowed halls of the Capital and defend that person's right to
possess such weapons. It breaks my heart for this noble country.
Let us stop looking in
the wrong direction—it's not migrants and middle-easterners that we
have to fear. It is angry white men with automatic weapons. Let's
stop lying to ourselves, and start supporting those who want to bring
sensible gun control into being. I will. I hope you will, too.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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