Raise Your Hand if You Want Stricter Gun Control
I was recently asked this by a boy no older than the age of 10.
Context: When I was 10 my biggest worry was how to keep girls out of my pillow fort (Sure, I wasn't very progressive, but in my defense, cooties).
Valid question. People admit to liking Justin Bieber again, a pizza-enjoying rat is viewed as a hero, and there are clear injustices occurring left and right.
And, of course, sitting comfortably at the top of the list of f'd up societal mayhem is the issue of gun control.
This may sound like a broken record, and that's because it is. And believe me, I wish it was a record we could stop playing, but much like Adele's new album this music needs to play on and, perhaps, turned even louder, that is if anything is ever going to get done.
@POTUS #TurnUpForGunControl(?)
We, and I'm not pointing fingers (because I'm holding an ice cream sandwich), need urgency to pass gun control legislation -- urgency that is currently and embarrassingly lacking in our capitol and within our leaders. Seriously, there was a bigger sense of urgency from people to learn the lyrics to "Uptown Funk."
While this issue is only a piece of the puzzle that is the many flawed systems and injustices in our country, I am writing this because we've reached the tipping point in wake of the recent shooting taking place in San Bernardino -- not to mention there have been more mass shootings than days so far in 2015 (many of which don't receive media coverage). That's not a great statistic for our resume.
As always, following this horrific act we've seen charts, graphs, and breathtaking headlines shared across our social feeds. We've seen people sending their prayers, voicing their opinions, and more -- and, though pure and good in thought, it's just not simply enough anymore to share our thoughts via online platforms, it's time for us as citizens and fundamentally as human beings to speak up, to create a dialogue, and to care -- to really care.
I'm not a political expert. Honestly, I still have trouble putting on my socks sometimes. In fact, often I feel rather small when it comes to my perceived influence on the larger outcomes of our society. And while I'm not usually the first one to outwardly call for activism (I'm usually just hanging out w/ my dog or something), in the face of the many recent depressing events piling up, I feel as if it's our responsibility as people to voice our thoughts and transform those thoughts and ideas into tangible actions.
And, yes, while some point to the notion that gun violence overall has decreased over the last two decades or so, public and defenseless targets have increased and, quite honestly, it shouldn't take more than one of these incidents to get us talking.
These tragic tragic situations have morphed into a nightmarish societal norm. We should find this disturbing. We should find it disturbing -- the very fact that it's not all surprising when we turn on the news to find that another mass shooting has occurred. We should find it disturbing that it is no longer a guarantee that good people will make it home safely. We should find this disturbing enough to call for change and to put pressure on our decision makers as well as each other. How many more deaths will it take? How much more rationalization will we manifest in the face of innocent deaths? I don't have the answers, but I'm willing to ask the questions and put forth an effort.
We can't let these incidents become second nature, as some have eluded to. Killing isn't on equal playing field with breathing. We can't accept this as our reality. It's immoral and irresponsible in every sense.
But I'm not here to be another dissipating voice venting without at least attempting an appropriate action to follow.
I know there are plenty of people out there taking active roles in the fight towards tighter gun control, trying to make the world a better place, but what about the rest of us? What about those who feel useless in the grander picture? "Well," I thought, "We probably shouldn't just sit here watching Friends reruns." Let's actually do something this time. Unlike all the other times we went on with our lives. These events, and those similar, should be disruptive, they should be uncomfortable, they should make us angry. Let's do something. Let's do anything.
This is going to be short and sweet-ish.
I've made it really easy for everyone, below is a link to a list of contact information for every representative of every state (updated most recently a few weeks back). Let's take five minutes -- the five minutes we would be on Instagram, write how we feel, and hit send. Let's make a push for stricter gun control. "But Jon that will never do anything they won't listen blah blah you're handsome tho blah blah." K then what are your big & bright ideas?
Or we can just sit here. But if we've learned anything this year, it's that sometimes we have to take initiative as a community when change is the goal. It's time for us to switch a light on in a world that is constantly growing dim. I don't have the answers. I know stricter gun control legislation won't entirely solve the problem, the issue is clearly rooted much deeper, but it's a place to start.
Don't wait for another headline. Don't wait until those you love are that headline. Make your voice heard. Contact your congress members today using the link below. Like, right now.
LINK: http://www.contactingthecongress.org
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