Pray first if you want, then take action
I was tempted to call this post “don’t just pray, do.” It’s been just a few days since the horrific Connecticut elementary school massacre, and I’ve been struck by the number of people telling each other to pray for the victims of this tragedy. Pray for the children who lost their lives, pray for their families, and pray for the entire community that was affected by this senseless violence. Then pray that nothing like this ever happens again, to us or to anyone.
My first reaction to all the people praying in the aftermath of this tragedy was impatience. We don’t need prayer, I thought, we need action. Don’t just pray. Do.
I’m not someone who prays, but if praying helps you wrap your head around the unknowable, go for it. For goodness sake, though, don’t stop there. Ask yourself how we mere mortals help the families that were affected by this tragedy. How do we prevent this from happening again? How do we live with the knowledge that something like this can happen again, and that it affects us all? How do we ensure that we’re doing everything we possibly can to prevent this kind of thing from happening again? Not through prayer, through action.
Gun control people will tell us that the NRA is the problem, that we need tougher laws so to make semi-automatic rifles harder to come by. The NRA will tell us that guns don’t kill people, people do. Many people will tell us that the problem is the way we romanticize violence as a society, and the way we equate muscle with power.
Here’s what I say: it doesn’t matter what each of us believes. Our job is to prevent this from happening again, to be able to tell our kids that we did everything we possibly could to keep them safe, to make sure they have a chance at the same future we did. Regardless of what we think the answer is, we need to take action.
If you think guns are the problem and we need more restrictive laws, work on that. If you don’t think guns are the problem then figure out what is and work on that. If you want to try to change the way society thinks about manhood — or power, or violence — work on that. If you think legislation will help, or sending letters, or making phone calls — work on those things. Prayer is not enough. Not everything happens for a reason; we know that. So get to work.
The power of prayer is real for many people, but even for the most devout, it’s just a beginning. Talk with God first if you want. Then talk with your Senators, Representatives, school board members, neighbors, friends, and children. Figure out what you can do to help realize the world you want to live in, and do it.
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My friend Mike Doherty in Seattle has put together some thoughts on what we can do to help. I like them so much I did them immediately and am re-posting them here:
If you want to move towards legislative actions to help prevent more gun massacres please contact your Congressman and Senators with your concerns. Below you will find links to how to contact them. I have also added my proposals for preventing similar massacres. You are welcome to borrow/steal/modify. Please do not sit on the fence though.
Here’s how to web contact your Senators (you may have to click around a little, it’s not as easy as the Congressional link):
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Here’s how to web contact your Congressional representative: http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/
Here is the body of my text, cut and paste, fix grammar and wording issues, modify if you want and fill in the parentheses…
Dear Senator (insert),
I am deeply saddened and disturbed by the recent gun massacres in Portland, OR and Newtown, CT. I am particularly disillusioned by the lack of political action to curb recurrent gun massacres. I have listed proposals for action below and I hope you and your staff work towards meaningful legislation that helps address the many problems here. Chief among them remain the ubiquity of guns and the lack of mental health care.
1- Fund and begin gun buyback programs for those that no longer need or want their guns. Call it the firearm stimulus plan… it worked in Australia with > 50% reduction in firearm related suicides and assault deaths.
2- Fund and begin teaching high school kids psychology, particularly how to recognize and initiate help for those suffering from paranoia, delusions, personality disorders, abusive behaviors and actions, dementia and depression.
Understanding psychology/psychopathology can help sharpen approaches to family, friends, life partners and work environments. This should be part of a required high school curriculum right there with reading, writing, mathematics and physical education.
3- Institute mandatory licensing for gun owners including passing regular courses on gun safety. Ammunition and casing purchases would require a display of that updated license.
4- Ban the sale of semiautomatic or automatic firearms.
5- Adequately fund care for the mentally ill, including through coverage requirements for private insurance plans. Direct NIH efforts to fund research into defining and helping “the shooter” before tragedies occur, and then move to fund and implement those findings.
With thanks for your consideration,
(insert your name and full address)
Don't Just "Like." Do. 