Another tragedy, another disturbed young man with an assault rifle and plenty of bullets, another set of parents whose hearts will never heal. Valentine’s Day, 2018. The 18th school shooting this year. All of our children are growing up in a world where “active shooter” drills are normal. It does not matter whether the school is on the west side of Chicago or is “one of the safest schools in Florida.” Today it is affluent, suburban Florida. Tomorrow?
That culture we have been inspecting at deeper and deeper levels in our religious community is a culture of fear.
I encourage us all to hold the children and parents of Parkland High in our thoughts and prayers. I encourage that even though we know that is not enough. But if we stop feeling both outrage and compassion, then the culture has triumphed. We cannot allow the new normal in our culture to become the new normal in our hearts.
It is not enough to “say something if you see something.” People said something in this case and in many cases. We need new laws to limit the kinds of weapons that are available. Yes, we do.
But there are so many guns among us now that neither limiting military weapon sales nor a functional background check system, even if our elected leaders find the modest courage to enact such common sense measures, will not be enough.
We need better mental health services. Yes we do.
But we also need to separate those most likely to kill from their weapons. Oregon, on January 1, joined several other states in adopting Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs) which allow families or law enforcement officials to petition a court to temporarily suspend a person’s access to firearms if there is documented evidence that an individual is threatening harm to self or others. Our Peace Action Group, working with CeaseFire Oregon was a lead advocate for this new approach.
ERPOs seem to me one good step to address the unacceptable reality in which we now live. But, alone, they will not correct our course.
I am preaching to myself when I say that we must sustain our resolve to find new and more effective ways to respond. The violations of the human spirit are coming at us so rapidly, we hardly can process one before the next demands our attention. It can feel almost like whiplash.
But to quote words that I say every week: “This is the day we have been given.”
The choice of how we respond is ours to make.
“Between two words,
choose the quieter one.
Between word and silence,
Choose listening.
Between two books,
Choose the dustier one.
Between earth and sky,
Choose a bird.
Between two animals,
Choose the one who needs you more.
Between two children,
Choose both.
Between the lesser and the bigger evil,
Choose neither.
Between hope and despair
Choose hope,
It will be harder to bear.”
Boris Novak, translated by Mia Dintinjana
Bill
P.S. I will be travelling next week to the annual gathering of ministers of large UU congregations in California. This is a primary learning community and support group for me, and from which I always return with energy and insights that benefit First Unitarian. Look for a blog next week from Dana Buhl, our Acting Social Justice Director, reflecting on our on-going inspection of the cultural water in which we swim.