Unless you live in under a rock, you have heard about the tragedy in Newtown, CT. I have not been able to bring myself to watch the news coverage. I cannot watch it without tearing up or feeling sick to my stomach. I have read articles online, looked at the terrifying images online. I did see President Obama’s speech and started crying when he started crying. How could you not? The families who are now trying to make sense of what happened today, the sadness, the pain, our fellow citizen, our fellow man – you would have to be devoid of a soul in order to not cry.
Other than the fact that the news reduced me to tears, I didn’t know that my 3-year-old should be watching such images. There had already been so much loss of innocence today, I couldn’t bear the thought of her seeing me watching the news, crying, and then having her ask me what I was watching on TV. We turned the TV off and spent quality time together. We did our usual Friday routine even though all day, I kept thinking about the moms who would not have a Friday routine anymore. I kept thinking about the brave educators who died while most likely trying to protect the small children.
My mother watched the news coverage tonight when we got home from doing some Christmas shopping. I couldn’t. It sounds horrible to not be able to watch the news, but I know that tonight I will have nightmares. Fortunately for me, my nightmare is one I can wake up from. Sadly, there are so many who, tonight, will not be able to wake up from their nightmare.
I pray that the families of those affected by this horrible day are able to, in time, find peace.
I pray that the little ones, and the adults too, who were lost are at peace in His Grace.
I pray that our law makers can reevaluate the gun control laws and not get held up in party lines and lobbyists. I pray that this tragedy did not happen in vain and that we, as a society, can open our eyes to the harsh reality that our laws are flawed and need to be revised and amended. We need to protect our innocent citizens and since there is no more need for a militia, maybe it’s time to realize that the “freedom” to have a gun is not something we can be trusted with anymore since we have seen so many mass shootings this year alone. I look at how Europe handles their guns and compare it to their gun violence rates. We also need to crack down on how many guns we import from European manufacturers (Glocks, for example, are an Austrian import). So much needs to change to prevent another family from having to bury a child.
We are the ones to bring about that change. Please, consider it. Don’t just quote Charlton Heston’s famous NRA quote, “From my cold dead hands…” Because you know what, it won’t be your cold dead hands, it will be the cold dead hands of an innocent person who just wanted to see a movie; hear their congresswoman talk; go to their college class; or go to school to play with their friends.
These are my personal opinions. While I respect your opinions, please keep your opinions respectful if you choose to comment below.
Singing Underwater 