Fear and Loathing

This is the country I live in.

Last month, a crazy person walked into an elementary school and killed a bunch of people. Many of them were young children.  This is a horrible thing and the whole small town where this happened is suffering. They are scared and hurt and devastated. For a few hours, they received the sympathy of the nation. But only for a few hours . . .

At that point, everyone had to make it about themselves. People who believe we have too many guns saw this as a way to start promoting anti-gun legislation. People who believe in mandatory prayer in school started saying the whole thing happened because God wasn't in the building. Some people blamed mental health drugs. Some people blamed the poor plight of white men who don't get enough attention these days. All the while, these people were still dead and these families were still grieving.

Then the groups start getting angry at each other. The anti-gun people scream that the NRA might as well just be lining children up and shooting them. The pro-gun people start flooding Facebook with 'how the world will look of they take our guns away.' People get mad and then their anger increases. Somehow, in the midst of this, the tragedy itself becomes the target.

Now there are people who claim the whole thing was a hoax created by the government as a plan to disarm the American people. They say the parents of the children are all actors because they aren't grieving enough. Because certainly if you're selling the country a bag of lies, you fill it with people who can't act the part? A man who gave shelter to some kids during the shooting and helped them to find their parents is being targeted. People are sending him threatening emails and accusing him of being an actor and a liar. This man gave aid to children during a crisis and now he is being punished for it.

People died. Children died. Families are hurting. A town is hurting. As a nation, our concerns shouldn't be about politics or policies or hoaxes or lies. Our concerns should be about helping these families, helping our countrymen in this time of pain and horror. How we treat each other in times of crisis says a lot about the foundation of who we are as a people. Right now, it looks like many of us are allowing the fearmongers and hate-stirrers to guide us. That doesn't say very good things about who we are.