I purposefully isolated myself from the tragic events of
both the Clackamas Mall shooting in Oregon and the Newtown Connecticut
shootings. I didn’t want to capitalize or trivialize the catastrophic losses
that were felt by all the people of our nation and people around the world. I don’t want to talk about gun control, religion (or lack
there of) or even the specific lives taken. I want to reach out to humanity as
a whole.
I am sorry that I will never get the chance to to meet those people.
That my children will never play with those kids. I am saddened that my son or
daughter will never share that first kiss with one of the children from that
town. We lost so much more than lives that day.
These lives lost are not just individual losses, but the
loss of our society as a whole. We lost potential. One of those children may
have cured a disease, wrote a song, created a new ballistic armor, became a
civil rights advocate. Now they can’t. When someone is lost we as a society mourn,
but then we become reactionary. Religion, law, medicine and opinion become
rampant. We can’t react without thinking of what we are trying to protect. Not
just lives, but potential.
The freedoms we give up as a society are nothing compared to
the loss of just one child who will never grow up because of true evil. People
blame movies, video games, books and music, but what about not blaming anyone
and trying to rationally decide what to do in order to prevent this.
Gun enthusiasts hold their guns stating they would have
changed the outcome; Those of faith blame the lack of religion in schools;
parents become paranoid that they send their child to school only to lose them
to insanity. The truth is, guns, faith and anxiety are not going to change our
world. There are places with these events daily, but that isn’t meant to lessen
the effect of these events, but to bring to light that there is no single
reason for this terror that we all feel.
I write this not to take a stand in print. I have my own
opinions and my own reasons, but it’s not important to share that right now.
All that should come out of this is love for children that come home to us, love
for friends and family that will make it to dinner, and a joy that comes with
being alive and having the opportunity to live for those that are gone.
I love you all. I know I am harsh and cynical, but that doesn’t
mean I am devoid of love. Each of us has a duty from this day forward to
support those that will be scarred by this loss forever and to love those that
are still with us. To family, friends, acquaintances and strangers on the
street; we see you, we respect your potential, we have love for you as a part
of a whole, but mostly if you weren’t here tomorrow you will be missed and we
pledge that we will mourn that loss and carry you with us all so that you may
live a life with us and experience all that you would have missed.
- Hold your children
- Smile at a stranger
- Kiss your parents
- Volunteer in your community
- Tell those lost that they are welcome to love through you
- Take a break to think of a memory to share with the lost
