Thoughts on Sandy Hook
Friday December 14th the world witnessed acts of humanity at its worst. Whatever caused the shooter to enter the school and kill 20 1st grade students and 6 adult educators, in addition to his own mother earlier in the day, we will never understand. Was he mentally ill, depressed, under unknown pressure? We will never know. But he must of been sick or ill we say? Again, this is the short answer and one that we would like to have be the answer so we can go along with our lives as normal. But we can't continue as normal. Normal is going to work, drinking our Starbucks, buying meaningless gifts and gadgets, arguing about our right to carry weapons, thinking that what happened in Newtown CT will never ever happen at our home. The sad reality is that this very thing can happen at our home in Anytown USA. It has been happening for centuries in middle eastern countries and others alike. It is a mindset of the assassin, a believe, martyrdom. I don't believe the shooter at Sandy Hook was mentally ill or a martyr. He apparently had no cause. No history of mental illness. He was highly intellegent and thoughtful. He had a loving mother who cared for him enough to quit her job so that she could devote more of her attention toward him. According to media she had even considered selling her home so that he could attend college elsewhere. Although I did not know her she sounds like a mother who cared for her children. He sounds like he would have been a good son, a good student.
So what is the matter with our world? The problem with our world is that we have buried God in our economy, politics, social issues and daily lives. We have banned God from our schools. We debate Christianity while lifting up foriegn faiths for fear that we might insult one another or hurt others fealings. We were founded as a Christian nation, America - the land of the FREE. We argue that same sex individuals should or should not get married. We debate whether government should be bigger or smaller, whether people are entitled to get housing support, food stamps, free breakfast at schools, etc. We even spend money and time trying to prove that our president was not born on US soil. Shame on us America! Although these are important issues they mask the problem of our society. We are a society that has become Godless!
What is the solution to preventing this type of random violence? Put God back in our schools and our daily lives. Start by praying at the school of your son, daughter or grandchild. Simply drive up to the school, get out of your car and bless the school, the students and educators. Teachers and students can do the same. You may not be able to publicly profess your faith in schools but noone can stop faith from spreading once it starts. Faith is stronger than any illness or force. You see faith in the eyes of children. You hear it in thier voices. You witness faith in the kindness of teachers and leaders. No group, not even the ACLU can stop faith.
Guns are a problem that needs to be resolved. Please don't spend time arguing that guns should be banned. Everyone should agree that Assualt weapons should not exist. Their only purpose is to kill. They exist to satisfy our coureosity and for the profit of the manufacturer. We live in a country that loves guns. I have never purchased a gun but have three. All were inherited. This is probably the case with most of us. NRA lovers you are safe...we will never ban guns. We can better manage them though. For instance we could require a class on gun handling in order to buy one. You have to have a drivers license to drive a car or motorcycle. A pilot license to fly a plane. A medical license to practice medicine. Heck, realtors even have to have a license to sell real estate (dirt)! Why shouldn't a gun owner have to take a class on gun safety? The true gun owner and user is able to manage the weapon and thier emotions. I know too many people who have purchased guns because they fear that one day someone will knock down thier door and attack them. If that is the case you will need to carry the weapon 24/7 in order for it to help you when and if that event ever happens. Figure that out when you are taking a shower, sleeping, making love, you get the picture. Managing a gun by emotion is a recipe for disaster.
We are at a turning point in our nation. We can argue about guns, and talk about mental illnes until we are blue in the face. Or, we can facilitate change in our nations beliefs and faith. Share the love of God with your co-worker. Show his love when driving down the street. Perform random acts of kindness to everyone. Start today...don't waist a minute...we simply do not have that much time.
