The Battle for the Soul of the Republic
Since the horrifying massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary, which left 28 people, including 20 children dead; there have been over 100 murders across the United States. The brief pause we experienced while grieving for the innocent school kids that were killed on that dreadful day could not last. Our societal thirst for blood would not be quenched simply by the lives of those guiltless young victims. Day by day, since the Sandy Hook tragedy, Americans continue to be killed in record numbers.
Before the violence spirals further out of control, we should ask ourselves a few very serious questions.
Is our once great Republic on the verge of collapse?
Has the American democratic experiment been hijacked at gunpoint?
Can we find a path back to sensible gun control and to a more perfect and thoughtful Union?
Or is the continuing degrading of our sense of community and humanity the new normal?
With each senseless act of gun violence we do more than just silence a life. Gun violence cheapens human existence because it’s the simplest and easiest way to kill. A quick pull of a trigger can end precious lives; individually or in groups. Within seconds, families are transformed as they struggle to cope with the loss of a loved one. Communities are wounded as neighborhoods live in fear of becoming victims to someone’s rage. The Republic is diminished as talented souls are escorted to the unseen world way too early.
As Americans, we pride ourselves in the progress we steadily make in the areas of medical research, technology and the arts. We remain the envy of the world because of our enormous wealth and military strength. American colleges are coveted by aspiring minds across the Andes. Our music provides the beat and rhythm that the whole world dances to. Unfortunately, we are steadily declining in the basic appreciation of human value. Today, the toys we work hard to acquire are treated with the same worth of our children. We fear losing our prized material possessions with the equivalency that we hold for precious kids.
If you think I’m exaggerating than reflect on the last time you felt empathy and outrage for the 260 Chicago Public School students killed by gun violence during the last three school years?
260 kids!!! That’s just Chicago kids alone!!
The Republic is truly lost. The only way back is for the people that make up the Republic to reassess and prioritize the things that are truly important. A society cannot survive if its people degrade the value of each of its citizens. We are now gorging on a new form of national cannibalism where we devour our own using guns as utensils. The Hebrew scripture teaches us that the way of violence gives birth to more violence until all are lost. In the book of Matthew 26:52 it reads, “Put your sword back in its place… “For all who draw the sword will die by the sword.”
It’s been said many times that a poor economy kills the American dream for the least of us. However, given the current state of gun violence in this country, we are killing the American people, thus denying them the ability to ever dream any more.
Also Check Out:
Introducing The NAACP
Changing of the Guard: Stephens Moves Into Serena’s Spotlight
Frederick Douglass – A Slave’s Will To Be Better
The 7 Best Celebrity Fragrances
Fathers and their Daughters: The Special Bond
