Today’s blog
Lynn Murphy Mark
Suffer the children
Another translation of Matthew 19:14 says “Let the little children come to me…” The rampant gun violence in this country, however, lends itself to the alternate translation, “Suffer the children to come to me…”
The airwaves are full of heart wrenching testimony about the last hours and minutes of 19 children and two adults. (Very little is being said about the 18 year old shooter other than words of outrage that he was able to purchase weapons of war and hundreds of bullets.). Pictures of children now lost forever are shown as their parents, or other spokespeople, describe their beautiful, short lives. Pictures show kids smiling and holding up school certificates showing their awards as the school year came to a close.
One woman said that she will forever have to live with the thought that she left her child in that school that morning. Millions of parents drop kids off, or watch them get on the school bus every day. The tragedy is that there are too many parents who have no idea that they will not see their child alive ever again. It seems so unreal that a common activity like taking kids to school can end in a parent’s greatest nightmare.
The other day, my daughter took my grandson to their local public school for his “kindergarten orientation day.” We were all interested in how that event would go over with his almost five year old self. There followed a sweet little video of him announcing loudly, “I don’t want to go to kindergarten! I just want to go home and get under my covers!!” How did he know that he is safer under his covers than he is in school? I can’t tolerate the thought that a rite of passage means that he might be in mortal danger someday.
Here’s what I really don’t understand: politicians who aren’t reacting with the same outrage that children are being slaughtered. I’m sorry to be so cynical that, after the latest shooting, I know there are politicians patiently waiting for this news to die down so that the gun control debate can die again in Congress. But you know what? We the people continue to elect these greedy bastards, sending them back to the halls of power where they can spend their time opposing reasonable legislation to curb the sale of weapons of war, guns that should be classified as weapons of mass destruction.
Right now the “Save Our Kids” Act passed the House along party lines. A republican house member sent a letter to the republican senators urging them to vote against the measure.
Instead he suggests that attention should be paid to identifying the signs that a person might be a mass shooter. Yes, that does need to happen, but it is not enough. Besides, the governor of Texas has cut a massive amount of money from mental health services in his state. I’m sure he is not alone in this action.
I keep hearing the percentage of Americans who support “sensible gun legislation”. It is well over half the country. Yet, our elected representatives don’t seem to care much about that fact. Not as long as the gun lobby is lining politician’s slush funds with the almighty dollar. Once again, my cynical belief is born out – Follow. The. Money. It is absolutely blood money, the blood of innocent boys and girls. What kind of person can live with that?