I have been at a loss for words because as a mom, a teacher, a wife, I cannot even imagine what these families must be feeling. How can these families ever recover? How can that school ever return to normalcy? Will it ever? Probably not. I keep thinking what if it had been my daughters, or my husband, my own mother who was a teacher. I keep thinking about the recent shootings at the mall in Oregon, and at the movie theater, and I think what kind of life are we living, where we are afraid to go to the mall, the movies or even send our children to school for fear that some psychopath will open fire and kill us or destroy our joy for life. I do not even know what to say to help these families deal with their pain. It is that feeling of helplessness that we cannot allow to set in...that feeling that it's just part of what life is like nowadays...you just never know when you're at wrong place at the wrong time. We cannot live with this type of fear. We must do something about mental health; we must do something about gun control; we must do something about our fascination with violence; we must do something so that not only the lives of these children and adults are forever remembered, but all those who have died these senseless deaths. I am positive that the shooter had to have had a history of violence and mental illness. No sane person goes on a shooting rampage. How was he able to buy guns? What laws made it easy for him, and make it easy for others like him to go out and buy whatever weapons they want so they can kill and terrorize us? Who is in control here? Where are the laws to protect our right to live without fear? I believe in the protection of our right to bear arms, but in our current society, I prefer the protection of my right, my family's right, and my neighbors' right to go out into the world and feel safe to study,work, play and just live without the fear of getting shot in the head. What solace can we give these families? The only thing we can do is write to our government, make phone calls, ask questions and demand answers and actions from our leaders requiring help for the mentally ill, and gun control laws so that this never ever happens again. We cannot become complacent and forget about this a month from now and just move on. We are getting too used to hearing about these massacres, and if we don't take action, what if these massacres become so commonplace that we begin to turn to the internet for our sole means of our education, our shopping, our interactions, afraid of leaving our homes for fear of being shot. What kind of society will we become if we allow this to continue happening? Regular people can't hire body guards. Where is it safe to go these days if we can't even send our children to school, or enjoy shopping and a movie?
My heart, my prayers, my tears, my hugs, and all my love go out to these children and these adults who lost their lives for nothing and to the families who are left behind. But that is not enough. My condolences will not change anything. My writing to Congress and calling them and letting them know they must do something may, but only if there are millions of other citizens that do as well. Let's ensure that these lives were not lost in vain...that we do something to make sure this never happens again. If there's a heaven, I'm sure these children and adults are praying that that's what we'll do. http://www.congress.org/
May God give these families strength and comfort to live on without their loved ones!
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