Dear healthy and sick, exhausted and invigorated, old and young, confident and questioning,
Dear police officers and custodians, bakers and dishwashers,
Dear teachers and firefighters, nurses and doctors, bus drivers and construction workers,
Dear soldiers and engineers, office workers and inventors, writers and gardeners,
Dear dancers and artists, computer wizards and garbage collectors,
Dear rich people and poor people, homeless people and people struggling to stay in the supposed middle-class,
Dear parents and families, spouses and partners, college students, teens and children,
Dear people,
I want to talk about guns.
Guns were created for one purpose. They serve one function.
They are machines made for killing.
In the end,
when we have exhausted making our stubborn arguments and offering our skewed reasons for why guns are good,
in the very end
guns are made to create precise and violent holes in things-
holes that can injure and kill.
Guns are the erasers of futures,
the easy way out vengeance providers,
the ultimate threat with which to reflect and perform
our weaknesses, our fears and our hatred
of everything and everyone in our society and our world that we choose to misunderstand.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary* defines society like so:
society
noun so·ci·e·ty \sə-ˈsī-ə-tē\ plural so·ci·e·ties
1
: companionship or association with one's fellows : friendly or intimate intercourse
2
: a voluntary association of individuals for common ends; especially : an organized group working together or periodically meeting because of common interests, beliefs, or profession
3
a : an enduring and cooperating social group whose members have developed organized patterns of relationships through interaction with one another
b : a community, nation, or broad grouping of people having common traditions, institutions, and collective activities and interests
4
a : a part of a community that is a unit distinguishable by particular aims or standards of living or conduct : a social circle or a group of social circles having a clearly marked identity
Look at these words...
companionship
association
organized
relationships
enduring
enduring
ENDURING.
Do you want to be patriotic? I can be patriotic. Here is the Pledge of Allegiance**.
In 1892
"I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
In 1923
"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
In 1954
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
In every permutation of the Pledge of Allegiance three words stand out, spoken in every version with precision and focus--one nation, indivisible.
One nation
indivisible.
indivisible
INDIVISIBLE.
Are we indivisible?
Will we endure?
I'm not so sure.
Out of all the things that divide us, the presence and use of guns seems to be the real unsurmountable knife's edge.
Yet, ironically, in the face of all our divisions, guns are the great ignorant, mindless equalizer.
After all, to shoot a gun the only thing you need to be able to do is pull a trigger.
I would beg everyone to consider a society where you need not live in fear of being shot
at school
or on a university campus.
Where you can go to the movies
or your house of worship
without looking over your shoulder.
I have spent many years living overseas in such a society where
my fears never had to include the fear of dying suddenly by an unknown hand.
And I have returned to this country of my birth wondering how close will the next
school
or campus
or other random shooting location
strike in my life? In the lives of those I love?
We live in a country of promise and potential.
Ironically, it is a country where we have become more adept at
tearing each other apart
than building each other up.
We must take the first step towards reaching our potential.
We must make the presence of guns among us the exception rather than the rule.... a device of last resort for those trained and intelligent enough to be trusted, rather than a ubiquitous shoulder shrug of violence.
One nation, No guns.
Only then will we begin to become
enduring
and
indivisible.
Sincerely,
christina
*http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/society
**http://www.ushistory.org/documents/pledge.htm
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