Hello...
I know that I have been a bit absent lately. A lot has happened personally, but that is not what this post is about. No, today goes beyond me or you. As many of you are aware, there was a tragedy that occurred in Las Vegas on Sunday. A man, who I will not name because I do not believe we should honor him even in that way, chose to intentionally pack up at least 23 firearms, according to a recent NY Times article, and decided that he would massacre a crowd of people.
The victims? At least 59 people were murdered and over 520 were left injured. That means that a minimum of 579 people, strangers, parents, nurses, doctors, students, children… were either taken from this world because of this man or were left on earth but still scarred for the rest of their lives. Thousands of people experienced a horrible tragedy, and countless lives were forever changed in the worst mass shooting in modern American history.
What was one of the first things discussed about this horror? People speculated about his ties with terrorism. What else was discussed? Gun control laws, Republican vs. Democrat politics, Racial Ties, and then the tragedy. Facebook was flooded with people pointing fingers, calling out the lawmakers for allowing gun control laws to stay active, screaming #whiteprivilege, and other such things.
Why? What does pointing fingers and name calling accomplish? Nothing. Well, that is not entirely true. It serves the function of taking the attention away from the real issue. People died. People suffered. People were gunned down. Lives were destroyed. Futures were ripped away. Should that not be our focus? This massacre is not about us. It is not about society. It is not about a very sick individual who chose to harm others. It is about those who fought bravely, who died tragically, and who survived. It is about the heroes both fallen and standing.
Have we really become that conceited that we push away the pain, the struggles, and the grief?
Should we not be holding up our fellow Americans?
Should we not be by their side whether it is in person or in thoughts and prayers?
Should be not be focused on them rather than which political party is to blame or if lawmakers were right or wrong to allow the Second Amendment to remain intact?
Does it matter what religion he follows?
Does it matter why he did it?
I suppose that my true question is, what should matter? We should be #prayingforvegas