Dear Editor,
How To Watch A Society Destroy itself:
This week once again, violence has raged through a community in America. It has become so regular that we are almost numbed by the constant news about it.
For some reason, the shooting of these 19 children really hit home. As I watched the news, my eyes teared up. I know that feeling, you say goodbye, figuring that you will see your child later, and poof, they are gone forever. I have also been on the flip side of this expecting to see a parent get advice and direction, but they are no longer in your life. We all die; unfortunately, many people don’t get to live out their dreams.
The massacre and destruction of life in Uvalde have hit home. I’m not sure why, but it has gone to my core. The argument that guns don’t kill people is annoying as an argument that it makes me sick. I said when there were a of rash terrorist attacks in Europe using trucks, cars, or knives, the destruction would have been worse if guns were available as they are here.
Let’s look at that argument. Dangerous, mental illness, and disenfranchised people commit these horrors. They need help; first, they need to recognize they need this, then they need to seek it, and finally, they need to be able to afford it. This is the core problem; no facilities are available here, and the government doesn’t help its citizens. It’s not profitable. Mental hospitals have been closed, which goes to the critical problem of socialized Medicine or affordable alternatives; there is none, which means this will continue next week and the week after. This is not the core problem, just one of the reasons we continue down the path.
Not only are we living in this violence, but children are also killing children, what does that say about our society? The future is being destroyed; if we can’t keep our children safe, there is nothing left.
Do we need 393 million guns here? Do we need to make them as easy to get as a box of cereal? What really hit my core was I heard, “We had just done an active shooter drill; the children are aware of what to do.” What! This is a part of the school curriculum. Are you serious? No one finds this odd. We are not in a war zone, or maybe we are? That this is part of the education system and thought of as normal says it all.
How did we get here? Why are people not marching in the street upset, like it’s Viet Nam? People and children are dying, and the news cycle will move on until the next incident; when is it enough?
I am watching as a once-great country crumbles from the inside out. We are either right or left; no more center; the truth is a matter of opinion, not the truth, and let’s not protect our children. The decline of the Great American Empire is upon us; we either wake up and find a way to fix ourselves or continue down this path to become irrelevant. It’s up to you. Each and every one of you either makes a difference or sits on the sidelines and watches.
Sincerely,
Michel Shane, Malibu