Live Free and Die

We live in an unending cascade of tragedy, stretching back decades. Columbine. Virginia Tech. Sandy Hook. Charleston. Las Vegas. Buffalo. Uvalde. And thousands more names and places affected by gun violence.

Words are cheap and hollow. It is not an election that was stolen but our hope.

Our leaders are beholden to interests they value more than the lives of innocent children, of people attending church, of people grocery shopping.

This massive public grief and rage mingles with all the other burdens of our private lives.

What words can you ascribe to leaders who have the power to enact change, but do not use it? Cowardice? Sociopathy? Callousness? Indifference? Evil?

What words can you use to compel them to act? They are immune to shame, and they assume our attention will barrel on like a bullet down the barrel of a gun, finding some new target.

What words can you use to comfort your child, to look them in the eyes with anything but the knowledge that no matter what measures we take, no matter what neighborhood we live in, violence may find them?

I have no answers. Only more feeble words, and the sadness I carry that’s gotten a little heavier with another reminder of how cruel our country is—and a reminder that those who boast the most about “loving” this country oppose the very actions required to ease suffering.

Words are bereft of meaning for the bereft - and we are all bereft. But most especially those who have lost their children.

I don’t know. If you want to read something more cogent, read this:

This is What Happens When You Live Under Minority Rule

Here is the unspeakable sadness: eighteen children and one teacher dead, in their elementary school classroom. Here was the unspeakable sadness last week: nine Black shoppers and one security guard dead, in their neighborhood grocery store. Also just last week: one man killed and five other Taiwan…

Culture Study

Hold the ones you love close.