This was going to be a music post. Best of 2012! What you have may have missed and what you should know.
But now, how can it be?
Yeah, the Band of Horses show the other night was epic. Those guys sure know how to put a smile on your face.
But what of the parents who dropped their kids off to school today and will be identifying them in a morgue? When will they smile again?
The reports are still coming in but what we do know is someone was intent on destroying lives. And he did it. Dozens dead and millions, myself included, heart broken.
I let our only child sleep in this morning. The school concert was last night and it has been a taxing few weeks. I calmly walked her inside he school and signed her in. I actually thought that this place might be the calmest, safest place she could be right now.
Bet they thought that in Connecticut this morning too. And in Columbine. And in Virginia Tech too.
They do it in movie theatres. They do it in shopping malls. They do it at the workplace.
And we watch in horror during the 24 hour news cycle and say all the right things.
"Oh my God." "Heartbreaking." "My thoughts and prayers go out to the families."
But are we doing anything to remedy the situation?
I mean, I think I understand the 2nd Amendment. And many of my friends and family are responsible gun owners. They hunt, and practice shoot, and are beyond safe and responsible with their firearms.
No one is suggesting we take their guns.
The question is, how are we addressing the elephant in the room? Unstable people are getting guns far too easily and doing bad things with them.
No, that is not a statement against the 2nd Amendment. "Unstable" people is the subject of that sentence. Look around. Things are tough out there. It is only going to get tougher. Throw in the most stressful time of year and the recipe for disaster grows. Desperation and profound sadness leads people to desperate, hopeless measures.
The problem is we are incapable of detecting the mental anguish when it arises and perhaps worse in treating known cases.
Then there are the guns. Readily available and manufactured to rapidly and efficiently eliminate many targets, and fast. When someone even mentions gun control (see Bob Costas) it pushes us farther apart. A simple dialogue is impossible to achieve. There are no gray areas. One side suggests they have the law on their side and the other is quick to blame the gun, not the assailant.
Black v White.
It is gray though, isn't it? We all agree those kids should be alive today, don't we?
So how do we compromise? Are metal detectors required everywhere? Should we take all the drug war money and use it to sweep up guns? We are pitting a police state versus total anarchy. The answers are somewhere in the middle.
Can we agree we need to do a better job talking to one another and helping out all those suffering?
Can we also agree that you should expect, with extreme confidence, that your child is safe at school from being murdered?
In a little while I will be picking up my daughter in this idyllic little town.
I will squeeze her tight and remember how fortunate I am. Moments later I will find sadness knowing this World is full of demons and ill will, that may one day interfere with her life.
There will be comfort knowing I, er, we can make a difference in her life.
It starts now.
But now, how can it be?
Yeah, the Band of Horses show the other night was epic. Those guys sure know how to put a smile on your face.
But what of the parents who dropped their kids off to school today and will be identifying them in a morgue? When will they smile again?
The reports are still coming in but what we do know is someone was intent on destroying lives. And he did it. Dozens dead and millions, myself included, heart broken.
I let our only child sleep in this morning. The school concert was last night and it has been a taxing few weeks. I calmly walked her inside he school and signed her in. I actually thought that this place might be the calmest, safest place she could be right now.
Bet they thought that in Connecticut this morning too. And in Columbine. And in Virginia Tech too.
They do it in movie theatres. They do it in shopping malls. They do it at the workplace.
And we watch in horror during the 24 hour news cycle and say all the right things.
"Oh my God." "Heartbreaking." "My thoughts and prayers go out to the families."
But are we doing anything to remedy the situation?
I mean, I think I understand the 2nd Amendment. And many of my friends and family are responsible gun owners. They hunt, and practice shoot, and are beyond safe and responsible with their firearms.
No one is suggesting we take their guns.
The question is, how are we addressing the elephant in the room? Unstable people are getting guns far too easily and doing bad things with them.
No, that is not a statement against the 2nd Amendment. "Unstable" people is the subject of that sentence. Look around. Things are tough out there. It is only going to get tougher. Throw in the most stressful time of year and the recipe for disaster grows. Desperation and profound sadness leads people to desperate, hopeless measures.
The problem is we are incapable of detecting the mental anguish when it arises and perhaps worse in treating known cases.
Then there are the guns. Readily available and manufactured to rapidly and efficiently eliminate many targets, and fast. When someone even mentions gun control (see Bob Costas) it pushes us farther apart. A simple dialogue is impossible to achieve. There are no gray areas. One side suggests they have the law on their side and the other is quick to blame the gun, not the assailant.
Black v White.
It is gray though, isn't it? We all agree those kids should be alive today, don't we?
So how do we compromise? Are metal detectors required everywhere? Should we take all the drug war money and use it to sweep up guns? We are pitting a police state versus total anarchy. The answers are somewhere in the middle.
Can we agree we need to do a better job talking to one another and helping out all those suffering?
Can we also agree that you should expect, with extreme confidence, that your child is safe at school from being murdered?
In a little while I will be picking up my daughter in this idyllic little town.
I will squeeze her tight and remember how fortunate I am. Moments later I will find sadness knowing this World is full of demons and ill will, that may one day interfere with her life.
There will be comfort knowing I, er, we can make a difference in her life.
It starts now.
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