Another mass shooting - ho-hum...

I first posted this just over a year ago on June 13, 2016, when our country was shocked, shocked by another mass shooting. I could have posted it almost every day since and it would not have been out of order, for the truth is hardly a day goes by in this country when we don't have a mass murder with guns. But by now it has to be something truly spectacular - like 59 people dead and over 500 injured - to get our attention.

And a further truth is that it will continue. There will be another and another and...

What would it take to jolt our representatives in Washington into action?

~~~

Monday, June 13, 2016

Thoughts and prayers won't stop bullets

So, here we are again. Another day, another massacre. Once again, we see cynical politicians offering their "thoughts and prayers" for the victims of another mass shooting, often on Twitter.

With one hand they send their sorrowful tweets and the other they hold out for their payoffs from the NRA for offering nothing but thoughts and prayers. No action. No sensible gun control. No universal background checks. No banning of assault weapons. They won't do anything to upset their masters.

Thus, Congress, the only entity that might be able to stop or at least inhibit these periodic massacres of our fellow citizens, refuses to act, except to offer thoughts and prayers and moments of silence. And, thus, the massacres will continue. Tomorrow, next week, next month, there will be another one, and we'll be outraged and sad for a few days and then we'll just move on, accepting that there is nothing we can do to stop these events.

Poll after poll show that a majority of Americans - 55% in the latest Gallup poll -want stricter gun control laws. Why then do these same people keep sending elected representatives to Washington who will not take action to strengthen the laws? Wasn't it Albert Einstein who said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results? Perhaps our society suffers from mass insanity.

On such a day, it is really hard not to despair.

   

Comments

  1. CarmenOctober 3, 2017 at 1:03 PM

    Well said, Dorothy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersOctober 3, 2017 at 1:19 PM

      I just wish it weren't necessary to keep repeating myself.

      Delete
  2. Judy KruegerOctober 4, 2017 at 10:38 AM

    The lobbies vs the people. Follow the money. Demand accountability and a plan from your Congressmen or vote them out. We can do it!
    Here is a clip of a song by Cheryl Wheeler (great songwriter IMO)about the issue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Op7agdIFOGY

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersOctober 4, 2017 at 11:26 AM

      Thanks for that link. A song that pretty much says it all.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Poetry Sunday: Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver

How about we share another Mary Oliver poem? After all, you can never have too many of those. In this one, the poet seems to acknowledge that it is often hard to simply live in and enjoy the moment, perhaps because we are afraid it can't last. She urges us to give in to that moment and fully experience the joy. Although "much can never be redeemed, still, life has some possibility left." Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is no
Read more

The Investigator by John Sandford: A review

Image
  I have read a few of John Sandford's books in the Prey series featuring Lucas Davenport. This book is a literal offspring of that series. It's the first in a series featuring Davenport's adopted daughter Letty Davenport. Letty is in her mid-20s and a graduate of Stanford. She works for a U.S. senator named Christopher Colles in a desk job but she's bored with her assignments. Then the senator offers her a chance to go into the field as a liaison between his office and the Department of Homeland Security.  In her first assignment in that position, she is sent to Texas along with DHS investigator John Kaiser to try to find out what is happening in regard to thefts of crude oil. The senator is not so concerned about the lost oil but wants to know where the money from its sale is going. Who is selling the oil and what they are doing with the profits? The suspicion is that a particularly nasty militia group led by a woman is involved. Letty and Kaiser head out to Texas, de
Read more

Poetry Sunday: Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman

You probably remember poet Amanda Gorman from her appearance at the inauguration of President Biden. She read her poem "The Hill We Climb" on that occasion. After the senseless slaughter in Uvalde this week, she was inspired to write another poem which was published in The New York Times. It seemed perfect for the occasion and so I stole it in order to feature it here, just in case you didn't get a chance to read it in the Times . Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman Everything hurts, Our hearts shadowed and strange, Minds made muddied and mute. We carry tragedy, terrifying and true. And yet none of it is new; We knew it as home, As horror, As heritage. Even our children Cannot be children, Cannot be. Everything hurts. It’s a hard time to be alive, And even harder to stay that way. We’re burdened to live out these days, While at the same time, blessed to outlive them. This alarm is how we know We must be altered — That we must differ or die, That we must triumph or try.
Read more