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.

It's a Populist Life

I was just struck tonight by how economically populist  "It's a Wonderful Life" is.  Seriously, it feels like the run-on-the-bank scene or the "scurvy little spider" scene could have been written by MSNBC's Ed Schultz.  If this film was made today, Republicans would protest that it demonizes "job creators" like Mr. Potter.  As Liberal as Hollywood is these days, they don't really make too many movies like this anymore.  It's kinda sad that movies "Atlas Shrugged" get made these days, but movies like "It's a Wonderful Life" don't.

That's not to say that the primary message of "It's a Wonderful Life" is Economic Populism, but it's definitely a major theme, perhaps the biggest theme of the first half of the movie ( up until the point where Uncle Billy loses the money ).  I never really how noticed this until tonight.  If Democrats want to start winning House seats again, I think they should all sit down and watch "It's a Wonderful Life".  If they can learn to talk about Economic Populism the way George Bailey does, they might actually be able to win some House seats in small-town Middle America.