My heart breaks for the families who have once again lost loved ones to violence. And it’s angered by those who once again maneuver to gain political points on the backs of those who sorrow.We need answers as to why these horrific events not only keep happening but are on the increase. Yet there are no simple answers. There is no fix that will happen tomorrow.
Many people want to blame guns. We’ve had guns as part of our culture since it’s beginnings. The guns haven’t changed. You can fuss and argue about the makes and models, but they all still do the same function. We lived in this country for more than 200 years without using guns in this way. Guns haven’t changed. People have.
People used to grow up in families with a mother and a father, often grandparents in the same neighborhood. Neighbors helped neighbors. People chatted over backyard fences. People looked out for one another’s children. People lived in “communities” in a way that is totally foreign now.
People valued other people in their marriages, in their families, in their workplaces, in the churches and synagogues. Was everything rosy-glowy and perfect? No. But they weren’t shooting each other up. There was a basic understanding of the sanctity of life. And we’ve lost that.
We have legislators who stand and CHEER for the right to kill a just-born infant. What would our grandparents have said about that?
We have games that people play for fun – for FUN! – that glory in killing people with graphic images on a screen. And many of those playing these games are impressionable boys. How can that not warp their young minds?
We watch movies where people are routinely shot, knifed, run over, or blown up, and we watch these for FUN. We call it “art” and “entertainment.” And we idolize the actors that make their living portraying the very actions we decry when they happen in real life. How twisted is that thinking?
There are no easy answers, but we can look back and see what worked in the past. It wasn’t gun control. It wasn’t anything the government did. It was families and communities who loved and cared for each other. It was valuing LIFE. We don’t do that anymore and that’s what needs to change. Not one of these horrific shooters, these demented individuals, would have pointed a single gun at a single person if they’d valued life.
That’s what needs to change. It can only happen in our homes, our families, our places of worship, and our hearts. The government, for all it’s posturing and posing, cannot fix this problem … but “we the people” can.
I challenge everyone who’s read this far to start making the changes at home. Start loving one another. Work out your differences at home, show your children how it’s done, dig deep and find the strength to be the kind of person who can make the difference in your family, your community, your little corner of the world. Make better choices as to your entertainment and what you’re allowing your youngsters to be exposed to. Tell them why these games and movies are horrific – not fun.
We can’t fix it overnight, there are too many broken people out there, but we have to start somewhere, and we have to start now.
All life is precious. Start with that.
Pegg Thomas 
I would like to know if i can forward this?
LikeLike
Absolutely! It’s on my Facebook page as well.
LikeLike