While I don't typically find myself commenting on current events, my heart now pulses with raw emotion. The knowledge that two more sets of parents have been cruelly initiated into a club they never sought membership in weighs heavily on me. These parents woke up today facing the gut-wrenching task of arranging a funeral for their beloved child – a child whose life was callously extinguished by a sick and twisted individual, devoid of any regard for the sanctity of life. On what should have been the last day of classes, tragically, it became the last day of life for two innocent victims. In the coming week, we will lay to rest two young adults whose lives were senselessly and brutally cut short. The scars carried by thousands of students and faculty will persist for a lifetime. The families and friends connected to the victims will forever bear the burden of this unfathomable trauma within their hearts. And our beloved Carolinas, once again, bear witness to the sorrowful stain of yet more bloodshed upon our community's fabric.
What adds to my distress is the fact that national morning news shows allotted only a fleeting few minutes to cover the shooting before briskly transitioning to the weather report. Have we truly reached a point where school shootings are tragically normalized within our culture? Have we become so desensitized to these unspeakable tragedies that we readily move on to the next news item, scarcely pausing to reflect? While thoughts and prayers are offered by many, and while their intentions are commendable, even as someone who firmly believes in God, I recognize that thoughts and prayers alone do not shield innocent bystanders from the onslaught of bullets. We are in dire need of actions beyond mere thoughts and prayers.
We are meant to be a nation embodying greatness, yet
regrettably, the truth is starkly different. When our schools, places of
worship, workplaces, and public gatherings transform into grounds for violence
and vendettas, we cease to be a land of greatness; instead, we are becoming a
realm of perpetual mourning and a chamber of execution. We must acknowledge the
depth of our brokenness and the fractures within our society. How much more bloodshed
must accumulate before we engage in a civilized and unbiased dialogue – one
that transcends personal agendas, egos, and political affiliations? It's high
time we address the ugly plague that has transformed this nation into a killing
field. For my part, and perhaps for yours too, I yearn for a day when our
mornings do not commence with the grim headline, "Another shooting took
place today at…"
