Sandy Hook

I'm by no means an old geezer, but I have been around long enough to remember a lot of tragic events in the USA.  These events are seared into my memory, and it only takes a word like "Challenger", "Columbine", or "9-11" to bring a flood of memories back to the surface.  However, while I'll never forget these events, I'd be lying if I told you they evoked strong emotions in me.  Sure, I realized these events were tragic, and I felt bad for those who died or lost loved ones, but none of those tragic events moved me to tears.

That all changed today.

I first saw the news at about noon today when I pulled up a web browser while eating lunch at my desk.  As I read the stories and looked at the pictures ( especially the pictures of young children fleeing in terror ), I couldn't help but think of my own kids.  I couldn't help but think of how terrified they'd be if they spent the last moments of their lives in that horrible situation.  I couldn't help but think of those kids crying out for their Mommies and Daddies ( as all children do in moments of great distress ).  I couldn't help but think of them leaving this world without their parents to comfort them. I couldn't help but think of what the parents of those children must have been feeling when they got the horrible news.

That's when I started to tear up.

I was in the middle of my workplace and had a lot of work to do, so I certainly wasn't going to break down.  I had no choice but to stop reading those articles and pull up the ESPN web site for the escapism of sports.  However, I also found that I simply could not look away.  I pulled up articles about the tragedy a few more times that day, and each time my reaction was the same.  I'd read a few paragraphs, look at a few pictures, and find myself tearing up again.  I never actually broke down ( I'm not even sure if let a tear leave my eye ), but when I watched President Obama well up later in the day, I knew exactly what he was feeling.

I guess this all hit too close to home as a parent of young children.  I'm pretty sure I thought about my kids a lot more than I thought about my work today, and certainly gave them bigger hugs than usual when I got home.

I hope this tragedy will serve as a tipping point for gun control in this country, but I've also been around long enough to know that the odds are against it.  I think that even the NRA will have the good sense to keep their mouths shut for a few days, but I guarantee that by this time next week, at least one NRA wing-nut will say something like "A lot of those kids would still be alive today, if the teachers had been carrying hand-guns".

I hope I'm wrong about that.  I hope that Americans can put pressure on their politicians to finally do something to improve gun control.  It might be a lost cause, but it's still a cause worth fighting for, and it would be a shame if most people just forgot all about this in a week a so.  We need to do what we can to keep the conversation going.   We need to honor the memory of those children to make sure that they didn't die in vain.  Maybe a conversation about gun control isn't quite the outcry this nation needs, but we've got to start somewhere.  Maybe if enough people talk, Washington will finally listen.

Rich

Edit: I just sent out an email to my Congressman about this issue, and I urge every other concerned person to do the same.  I'm not going to pretend that the members of Congress are going to read these letters, but numbers can make a statement, and perhaps a few million letters/emails on the subject can make a big statement.