In Judges 19 in the Bible is a disturbing tale of a man traveling through Israel with his common-law wife who finds less than hospitable conditions one night in a particular town (we’ll just say the town’s Trip Adviser rating wasn’t exactly stellar.) Something so unspeakably violent happens that it ends up shaking the entire nation of Israel to its core, and summons people to action on a massive scale.
The recent horrific school shooting in Florida – could it be for our nation a similar watershed event? In unprecedented numbers, high school students from around the country are rallying together in protest against the plague of gun violence. Call them the Columbine generation, for these students have grown up only knowing this sort of world, where they continually live under this sort of threat.
If there’s a plane crash, investigators will work for months to understand why, then changes are made to prevent a similar disaster. In the aftermath of a terrorist attack, we’ll study how and why it happened, then make changes in the hope of heading it off in the future.
Laws and regulations are written in blood, they say. Yet laws regulating guns remain mired in place in our country, triangulated between lobbying groups and politicians and citizens who hide behind talking points and refuse to listen to their hearts or think for themselves.
I’m frustrated along with these students. And fearful as well of the type of world we are creating for our children. They think we can do better. I hope they’re right.
