Being a mother of a child who is of school age, you better believe I have an opinion or several opinions about how things are in this world. I am deeply saddened and distraught about the children and teachers whose lives were taken just last week in the most recent school shooting. I find so many things about it just confusing and difficult to imagine and deal with, but I don't blame guns.
I neither support or oppose guns. I do not hunt and my husband does not hunt. I do not own a gun and I have no intention of ever owning a gun. I grew up with very non-violent parents who also felt no need for a gun in our home and I feel the same way. I won't be displaying my proud dead animals on the wall or feeding my family by hunting and gathering. In that same right, I do not oppose folks who hunt for a hobby, taxidermy their "trophies" or enjoy guns. That is a personal preference and I do not judge. In fact, I don't really mind either way and I enjoy the occasional venison meatball or two as well.
I do however find that the government is focusing on the WRONG problem in response to this latest school shooting. This man could have shot the victims, bombed the school, set the whole place on fire or chosen another way to take these innocent lives and whether or not he had a gun played no part in this crime. He would have figured out a way. Call me crazy but what if, what if he had been taught, that when life was spiraling out of control and he felt he had nowhere to turn, he could walk into a church?
Government worked hard to separate church from state and honestly I think that is when things took a turn for the worse. I don't think religion should be forced on anyone but there are alot of things I don't think should be forced on anyone; home ownership, vegetarianism and brussel sprouts to name a few. Each person gets to make his or her own choices and I think that is important. When saying the word "God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, for example, I don't think anyone is barking religion down your child's throat. I think too many parents like to make a big deal about things that shouldn't be a big deal. Henry learned how to say "God is great, God is good, Let us thank Him for our food. Amen" At his school during snack and lunchtime. He came home saying it and I asked him where he had heard it. He told me that they say it at school (Little Red School House) and he taught it to Callie and now we all say it at dinner time. I was actually pleasantly surprised about it and couldn't be happier. However, there are parents out there that would like to go make a big stink and scream and yell about someone forcing religion on their child etc.... How bout this? How bout instead of teaching your child to be aggressive and negative about a situation like this, talk to them about it. Teach them that this is not what you as a family believe and EXPLAIN why.
The issue isn't guns or gun control. Cracking down on those things wouldn't have changed the outcome of this situation. The guns were obtained legally through the parameters set by our government and look what happened. Mental illness may have played a part but you can't just ship mentally ill people out to the asylums anymore. Government should work on health care and in particular making mental health care more accessible to people who need it. The people who are mentally ill and "lose it" (for lack of a better term) aren't the ones who are compliant with their medications and therapies. They are the ones who have to make a decision like this, "Should I get my medicine or pay my rent?" or this "Well I have to go to work to pay for this insurance so I am going to have to skip my therapy appointment and work this extra shift." Getting an antibiotic for your infection is easy and most of the time affordable, how come getting medication to keep you from shooting up a school isn't as easy or affordable? Why do we treat mentally ill people like it is unimportant to be tortured by their own mind? Why does it have to cost so much to have someone to talk to that can help you come up with coping strategies and ways to deal with everyday life?
Hey Government! Make these things affordable. Make them accessible. Stop spending all of your time, energy and OUR money on ridiculous issues that don't even begin to tackle the actual PROBLEM. Take care of your people and make health care for mental illness more affordable and acceptable. Gun laws and stiffer restrictions would not have stopped this tragedy and won't stop further tragedies from happening. Look at what is important.
I do believe that God should play a more important role in people's lives BUT I also do not judge folks who have their reasons for not believing in Christianity or even a higher power. One thing everyone can agree on is teaching tolerance, respect and the value of a community of involved people to raise our children, make safer our neighborhoods and support our schools and public institutions. You don't have to believe in God to value and teach those things.
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