Letters to Society’s Children - Part #4: Gun Violence
My dearest children of society,
I write to you on the subject of gun violence. While this may not be a recent occurrence, the number of victims has increased in more current times. We see it all over our television screens and we hear it all the time on the radio that some crazy gunman - or even gunmen - comes to a place and shoots countless innocent people. Of course, there are those in our society who would protect the rights to their precious firearms rather than to seek the proper justice for those who have been ruthlessly murdered. The lives of innocent people are being cut short at the hands of those who suffer greatly, and what does society do? We debate gun restrictions and ply into the political theatre that has become of our government. And the issue doesn’t just stop at mass shootings, either. The deaths of so many black, hispanic, asian, and other people of color caught in the gunsights of deranged people is nothing short of horrendous, and yet these individuals responsible are rarely, if ever, held responsible.
You may be asking yourselves, my children, why these things happen. Why would anyone do this? What causes a person to mentally check out in order to kill people? To kill children in the place they should feel the safest? The answer isn’t a simple one. Some have equated it to the relatively easy access to semiautomatic firearms, the kind that provides for the facilitation for mass shootings to occur. Others say that it’s due to the increase of more violent material in our media sources, like TV shows, video games, and movies, that this ever-present violence in our society causes people to act out their violence against the innocent. And even some believe that more guns are needed in those places, that more guns in the hands of more people can result in less violence. However, I don’t believe that any of these answers is the truth.
My children, the real culprit behind all of this is a serious lack of responsibility. The police officers responsible for all those senseless “accidents” have a serious lacking in regards to accountability. The government shuffles its feet around and makes grand statements but rarely makes any change. This lack of responsibility and shifting of accountability isn’t the only thing that contributes to the epidemic of gun violence, but it is one that is rarely talked about, if it ever is. Change has to start with the individual. My children, be responsible when you hold a gun. Although it is a right, treat it as a privilege and be as careful as you can. People shouldn’t take their anger out by gunning people down, cops shouldn’t shoot first and then ask questions, and parents shouldn’t naturally assume their children know the true worth of a life - and the consequences of taking one’s life away. And above all else, my children, we as a society must see life for what it is - precious, and deserving of the upmost protection. And should anyone doubt that there’s a gun violence problem in our society, tell them the names of every victim. Tell them their ages, and what they were doing when they were killed. And should he doubt you even still, then you will have seen with your own eyes the lack of care we place on human lives.
Stephen King, the critically acclaimed horror/thriller author once said, “How many have to die before we will give up these dangerous toys?”
Signed, Joshua Paul Villanueva
