This past week had three separate incidences that really make it seem like the world is ending. The tragedies, coupled with personal problems, allowed for my first doctor-diagnosed panic attack.
First, the Clackamas Town Center shooting. This is my mall of choice, I used to work at the Bath and Body Works there. My daughter's step-mother and brother were there when it happened.
Then the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary school leaving a total of 28 persons, mostly 6-7 year olds, dead. As a mother, my child is my world and I wept for the parents. And I don't want to talk about that anymore.
Lastly, an old drinking buddy from my Kansas days, Jeff Atherly was shot and killed responding to a drug deal call. Though not close to him by any means, I mourn for the loss my friends have experienced.
For a short time, I deactivated my facebook account. Where I wanted to find solace by grieving with friends and family, I found memes, witty quotes and poignant articles about gun control laws and laws about locking up the "crazies." Tragedies that don't belong to any party were instantaneously morphed into political arguments.
We have not had time to mourn and we will not properly mourn because we are too fast-paced. Everybody wants to be the next person with the next profound thing to say. Ashamedly, I returned to facebook today because I'm too damn connected that way. I was disgusted by my lack of self-control, I still am.
You know what would be awesome? A day of complete social media silence. Log into facebook and twitter, but don't post anything. Spend a day looking through your loved-ones' pictures or re-reading the poem your best friend wrote. Use social media to cherish the good things in your life.
And on other related note: One of my friends posted this clip. Generally I'm not a Mike Huckabee fan.
I'm not religious, but this really struck home:
I think allowing for religion and prayer, allowing people to use their faith to express their feelings of grief or joy is healthy for the whole of society. A cross on the side of the road is not offensive, it is a weak mind that is offended. Prayer should be allowed because it is the one thing people can do where there is otherwise no control. It is a medium for teaching values and expression of feelings. I wonder if we had allowed for a more religious/spiritual society if these shootings could have been prevented. Instead of trying to get everyone to shut up so no one is ever offended (or the alternative of forcing people to conform to a particular religion), can we just allow room for acceptance of differences? Would that be so bad?
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This is a well-written post Maria. I agree with most of what you wrote here, it is much more heartfelt in many wants than my simple follow-up post of questions ("Dead Children"). In all honesty, I cried after this happened. I just had too much poison accumulated, and it was involuntary.
ReplyDeleteI can't bring myself to enjoy violent movies and video games like I have in the past, and I now avoid them (with the exception of Beverly Hills Ninja, which has helped me cope through laughter at Chris Farley's marvelous 1990's physically comedic stylings). I am a self-professed news junkie, and I have been avoiding the news like the plague of darkness it can be since the shootings.
As genuine as Mr. Huckabee may be, he is still practicing the same divisive, tired tactics of left vs. right. I agree that we should mourn as Americans rather than make this political. Anybody can pray, anywhere. There is no preventing it for the faithful or the faithless. If you pray, then pray now. We are headed forward faster than we can make any sense of until we stop for a second to reflect, before we return to the mindless ways of being that will cause more suffering as we look out for number one once more.
If we change anything about ourselves, let us change our cold-hearted lack of empathy. Let us practice looking into our own sins and fixing those rather than throwing stones at everyone else. Let us start acting like the community we are, rather than just expecting people to figure it out on their own. The last thing we need is for folks to figure out that bringing a gun to a grade school, shopping Mall or movie theatre and opening fire on innocents will ever positively impact life as we know it.
Every time we turn our backs on society, we are turning our backs on ourselves, and our collective sickness increases.
Yeah, Mr. Huckabee is pretentious at best. But I have to give credit to his words this time because it gave rise to my own thought. We need to allow for freedom of religion, which in many ways translates into free expression and speech. Lord knows that I need a little help in the whole higher power/spirituality department.
ReplyDeleteWould you say that includes all religious expression? Even really annoying ones? As society reclines, these ideas are challenged, and freedoms slip away with the best of intentions...
ReplyDeleteI am for free speech/right to religious freedom. Yes, all religious expression to the extent that they are not harassing or threatening other religions.
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