Just a few hours ago it was reported that 26 people had been gunned down by an unknown shooter, wearing a ballistic vest, in a church in Sutherland Springs,Texas. President Trump took to Twitter with the rote response, “May God be w/ the people of Sutherland, Texas. The FBI & law enforcement are on the scene. I am monitoring the situation from Japan.”
While the intention was, I have to believe, well meaning, there is something patently obvious POTUS is missing. These people who lost their lives today were actually with their God at the time this hideous event occurred. And it did not help them one bit. They were in a church, the very place God was most likely to be with them, probably giving thanks for the joy of being alive on their sacred Sunday. And it did not help them one bit.
Am I saying their God failed them? Not at all. I am saying that when it comes to guns we need to set aside faith and put some real plans in place because in the hands of the violent, belief is clearly not bulletproof.
It’s time for politicians not to “monitor the situation”, but for them be with the people who are just trying to live their lives, Monday to Sunday without being shot with rifles. Let the gods do the monitoring, because to be very practical they cannot be in the places they need to be to change laws that allow anyone and everyone to obtain a weapon with almost as much ease as getting a Twitter account and punching in a few words about praying for those in distress.
I come from South Africa. A country that boasts some of the highest crime rates in the world. Every day there are 49 murders. South Africa has been ranked the second worst country in the world for gun deaths, behind the US. Now I live in America where every shooting vies for the top slot of “the worst” in mass shootings. Both countries I call home have different systemic issues that make for these chart topping crimes, and the ways weapons land up in the wrong hands differ too, but they seem to share the same inaction, with politicians who do not, and will not, put any change in place because, God forbid, that could topple their power.
In South Africa the parties in power ignore the corruption surrounding crime, hiding behind statistics that show crime is down by 1.4% as their way to dodge the bullet. Really, 1.4%! In the United States politicians speak about unifying over policy, and while they attempt to hold hands, angry and disturbed fingers continue to pull triggers. After Vegas, the shooter’s workaround to turn his gun into a semi-automatic rifle – the “bump stock” – was called to be banned. The White House said it was “open to talks.” Obviously 59 dead people is not enough to speed up any process, but hey, the politicians all tweeted to God to take care of the families who lost loved ones, so hopefully God is online and “taking care”until the talks can happen.
I have my own version of faith that gets me through the day. But everyday I read about these unnecessary tragedies and the politicians who have the ability to prevent them, but don’t, I lose a little of it. Today I pray we never stop finding the strength to force them into action at a speed of a bullet.
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