In September of 2001 the band P.O.D. released their song “Youth of the Nation” which begins with the lyrics:
Last day of the rest of my life
I wish I would’ve known
‘Cause I would’ve kissed my mama goodbye
I didn’t tell her that I loved her and how much I care
Or thank my pops for all the talks
And all the wisdom he shared
Unaware, I just did what I always do
Everyday, the same routine
Before I skate off to school
But who knew that this day wasn’t like the rest
Instead of taking a test
I took two to the chest
Call me blind, but I didn’t see it coming
Everybody was running
But I couldn’t hear nothing
Except gun blasts, it happened so fast
I didn’t really know this kid
He wasn’t part of the class
Maybe this kid was reaching out for love
Or maybe for a moment
He forgot who he was
Or maybe this kid just wanted to be hugged
Towards the end of the song is this stanza
Who’s to blame for the lives that tragedies claim
No matter what you say
It don’t take away the pain
When this song came out I was in high school. I could still remember the reaction to Columbine which occurred when I was in middle school. How could I have envisioned then that 16 years later we, as a nation, would have paid lip service over hundreds of bodies of adults and children about “never again” and then done precisely nothing to actually change the course of our society?
Honestly, I’m getting tired of trying to be nuanced about which gun owners are responsible and which aren’t, it’s about people not guns, it’s a mental-health issue, did the Founding Fathers intend for an armed population as a hedge against tyranny, blah, blah, blah, blah. The endless blathering only seems to amount to yet another dead child, yet another dead mother, yet another dead father.
What we’re doing now, which is nothing, is not making the situation any better.
People who want to have continued access to firearms as part of their lifestyle need to stop hiding behind rhetoric and start proposing and implementing solutions. I’m getting tired of holding a nuanced view on the matter while more people senselessly die. I imagine there are more like me who, as time goes on, think that a “repeal and replace” of the 2nd Amendment might be the only way anything actually changes.
Research available options, pick a potential solution, plan and fund an implementation, study the outcome. It really isn’t that hard.
Do we really care?
The answer seems to be, “No.”