Another School Shooting-Enough!

Another School Shooting-Enough!

Wouldn't it be wonderful to hear the words "living well" instead of "killed?"  Have we become so used to hearing that students in schools, people in malls, folks doing their jobs at work have been killed by some unhappy or unhealthy person that we listen, shake our heads in disbelief,  and then go about our day?  Are we now expecting to hear about multiple killings in our country on the evening news?  And if we are truly expecting this type of news, what does that say about us as a nation?

Again today there was a shooting at another school, and students died.  For what?  Why?  I know there are no easy answers to these questions, but we should be so sick of these slaughters that we are willing to sit down and come to some agreement about mental health and weapons.  When do we say enough children and adults have died for no reason?  When do we stop worrying about having to give up something for the good of all?  I know.  These questions will make some readers quite uncomfortable.  I don't like to ask them.  But, what I like less is knowing that families have to plan funerals and burials way too soon.  What I dislike is lives with so much promise ended for absolutely no reason.

Instead of planning final tributes, shouldn't we be working toward helping those who are troubled find a way to live a better life?  Shouldn't we be asking our government to make funds available for treatment for those in need?  Shouldn't we be demanding that those who make the decisions about funding give up something themselves instead of arguing over who is right and who is wrong?  This is not about political parties.  It is about the lives of citizens who need help.  What difference does it make what political party one identifies with when there is so much need?

One of the challenges facing our society is identifying those who need help coping in our world.  It seems that everytime cuts are necessary, the cuts are made in the mental health arena.  Looking at our world today, does that make good sense?  Identifying and treating those who suffer from mental issues might be the way to start the road to less violence.

Today I listened to the reporting of that shooting in the Northwest.  It is the last one in a long list of murders of innocent people.  People who had dreams and goals cut down in an instant.  People who were making plans to visit with friends, eat dinner with family, plan a summer vacation.  Now those things will never happen.  Left in their place are bedrooms with closets full of clothes, desks with computers, jewelry boxes, pictures of friends and family.  Memories of a life that ended because someone made a decision to kill.  And now families and friends are left with huge holes in their hearts and lives that will never be filled.  My heart hurts for them.

We can change this pattern.  It will take pressure on those in control of our lives to make a difference.  I ask that each of us think about what we can do, and then go about doing it.  We owe it to those who died on a regular day as they went about their lives.