Skip to main content

We Have To Do Better: Dealing With Newtown, CT Tragedy

"What I do know, is that over the last twenty years...
Columbine showed us that we are not safe at High Schools.
Virginia Tech showed us that we are not safe on College Campuses.
Fort Hood showed us that we are not safe at Army bases.
Binghamton, NY showed us that we are not safe at community centers.
And now, Aurora, Colorado showed us that we are not safe at the movie theaters.
Where are we safe?!"
Those were the words I wrote following the tragedy that was the Aurora, Colorado theater shooting (Horror in Aurora: Where Are We Safe?). Sadly, we now can add an elementary school to the growing list of places we are no longer safe in.

I was on vacation when the news broke about the shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, eventually learning about the tragedy later in the day. Those same exact words I wrote came to mind as I heard the heart-breaking details about someone opening fire upon elementary school students.

I honestly do not believe that this is the shooting that finally should force us as a society to take action. That time in my eyes was a long time ago after Columbine, Colorado. However, this is the tragedy that will, hopefully - should - awaken us to the fact that this is long overdue.

It's the type of tragedy that I can type a thousand words on, and never capture the feeling we all have dealing with this situation. 

I'm frustrated. I'm angry. I'm heart broken. I'm disappointed. 

As I said earlier this year, there is a huge problem in our society. Very huge. 

Are guns and gun control a part of it? 

Yes. Absolutely. No question about it. 

However, guns are only a symptom of the problem at hand. 

I've been in favor of gun control laws that make it difficult to acquire guns, FEDERALLY, for a long time.   Laws that require background checks and mental stability tests. It should never be easier to acquire a gun than an apartment.

We have laws on drugs and prostitution, yet they continue. So I'm not totally naive to think this is the solution. With 3,000,000 registered guns already in our nation, and who knows how many more illegally, the wars on guns will never be a perfect victory. However, laws at least make it difficult. 

So yes, our current gun control laws are a reflective symptom from a bigger problem. 

A problem, that is obviously a huge issue at the core of our society that festers and grows everyday. 

And it is a loaded issue that honestly, as a nation, will take a long amount of soul searching to find the root of, and the eventually cure. 

But for now, it all can be issued in five words. 

We. Have. To. Do. Better. 

I hate to get up on a soap box, but when else is there a more appropriate time to do so? 

I'm not buying the disorders and any other excuse we attempt to drum up. These tragedies are clearly more frequent these days than any other period in history. 

We are obviously doing something wrong. Very wrong. 

And it all makes me frustrated. 

Frustrated that we continue to bicker and spin our wheels on an issue that needed to be brought to the table over a decade ago. 

It makes me angry. 

Angry that little boys and girls now must fear for their lives in a place where they should be building a future. 

It breaks my heart. 

To think of all of the families and children who have lost loved ones to such a stupid and senseless tragedy. 

And I'm disappointed. 

Disappointed that this is the world we now live in. 

A world where High Schools, College campuses, Army bases, community centers, movie theaters, religious institutions, and elementary schools are all war zones. 

The meaning of safe is now a mere figment in our society. 

And we have no one to blame but us. 

Recent Favorites

Dome Pondering Movie Review: The After (2023)

What is it about? In a short film, a grieving man confronts his past when he comes face-to-face with a passenger.  Who is in it? David Oyelowo - Dayo Jessica Plummer - Amanda Amelie Dokubo - Laura  Favorite Scene: It's an extremely short film, so...the final few moments.  Favorite Quote:  None. (not much dialogue) Review: This eighteen-minute masterpiece is amazing. You're absolutely taken on this ride of emotions that ultimately leaves you with a great realization of questioning what we value in life.  The lead character, in eighteen minutes, is powerful. His grief is carried through the film, exploding at the end. It very much leaves the viewer with so many questions - what was his life before the tragedy? What was his life after that moment? Did he ever reconnect with that family? Did he rediscover happiness?  Again, a very, VERY, powerful eighteen minutes that will jolt the heart, mind, and soul about life, what is important, and what we overvalue in its place.  Grade: 4/5

2024 NBA All-Star Weekend Thoughts

There's something wrong with the All-Star Game.  Yeah, we've definitely had this conversation before. Expect to pick up this very discussion (again) in July when Major League Baseball has their version in the "Mid-Summer Classic" when it is the ONLY current topic to bounce around in the stratosphere of sports discourse.  What's wrong with the All-Star Game?!  I'm not dismissing the obvious - yes, the NBA All-Star Game is very much at an alarming point of necessary refinement and change - evaluation is needed. What we saw on Sunday night was not disappointing, but outright embarrassing. Also yes, gone are the days when the game flooded your television screen at a respectable 6:30pm on NBC, and you were wowed by the athleticism and star power of the first half of the game, and treated to what felt like the world's best players playing pickup basketball on the grandest stage.  Now? Not so much. So yeah, we got the message. The outrage - and shock TV and hot t

Quick Ponder: Daily Armor

Imagine, if we can see the dents and scratches, the smashes and chaos,  on the daily armor, each of us put on. Just imagine.