Remembering The Children Lost On This Day

One year ago today our throats would not allow a word to escape from our lips. We were all rendered speechless by the news from Connecticut and the innocent faces that will forever be etched in our minds. It is hard to comprehend the hate that was manifested in the actions of a disturbed individual. Even now, as we remember those young lives lost, I can’t get over the evil that was visited upon that community that day.

Today should be a day to reflect, remember, and honor those who were lost to the world, those lights that were extinguished before they had the chance to truly shine with magnificent radiance. We should keep the families of the victims in our hearts and the ask G-d to ease their pain in our prayers. Those live lost, those innocent souls, those young faces should be the focus of our thoughts today.

However, as was made evident by the President today, many thoughts are not on the victims and the heinous actions of a murderous individual. They are on the objects that are so misunderstood by so many and appreciated and respected by too few. Objects, whatever they may be, will always require a force to be acted upon it to create an action. People are the root of good as well as the root of evil.

While all this was happening and the accusations were being made against those who have honored the laws of this country and respected the responsibilities of ownership, there was a sense that the people, the small children, have been lost in the politics of the day. A single event has been leveraged so fully to push an agenda that it has now defined these young lives. The actions of others should never define our own lives.

We should be the source of memory, our actions are the ones that should serve as a means of remembrance. Many lives are cut short and brave children are taken from the loving embrace of their mothers and fathers. While not all are as violent as those premature passings in Connecticut a year ago, they are all tragic and heartbreaking. One such moment of heartbreak occurred just after midnight. Superman Sam passed away at 12:33 am in the warm embrace of his mother and father.

It had been 18 months since he was first diagnosed with refractory acute myeloid leukemia. His mother kept a blog throughout the entire struggle. The good days, the bad days, the days of hope, and the days of sadness. She even wrote abouthis passing tonight, less than 24 hours after Sam’s last breath.

There are countless children taken from this world and they should all be remembered for the hope and innocence that lived in each and every one of them. If there was something that could be done to guarantee that these things wouldn’t happen, that no child would ever die, I would be the first one to throw my full and fervent support behind it. However, that is, unfortunately, not the reality in which we all live. This is why I choose to put my full support and faith in G-d because man cannot make such a promise but G-d offers the possibility and the hope that things can change, that people can change, and that those children who have been taken from us are in a better place than this limited world.

Remember not the actions of others but the lives of those lost. Pray for the end of such evil acts. And hold fast to your faith and your family and do all that is in your power to protect them.

Unification, Division, and Mourning

Today’s post is one that I have not been looking forward to but I think this is something that needed to be written. There will be many of you that agree with me and many of you that will not. Some will think this post inappropriate while some think it necessary. It is on a topic that has been heavily debated for some time now and that is, to say the least, very polarizing.

Six months ago this Friday this country was shaken by the devastation imparted by a deranged individual at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. To say that this was a senseless tragedy is an understatement and I firmly believe that we should unite to find a means to put an end to such horrendous acts of man.

Unfortunately, this has not been the case as the root cause of this murderous endeavor has been skewed by placing the blame on the means rather than the motive and the individual. This was an evil act carried out by a human being (that term is admittedly used loosely in this instance) without morals against the most pure and innocent in our society. We know what happened and how it happened but what should be focused on is why it happened.

We need to stop focusing on inanimate objects and look at the core of the problem which is mental health and the factors that contribute to moral disconnect. Violence is an issue that plagues every country, every community in this world, without any preference as to the means in which it is carried out and in every case the individual(s) must be held accountable. These crimes cannot be an excuse to condemn an entire group of people… we cannot judge people because of race, religion, politics, or any object they legally own or sport they legally participate in. 

We are a nation of laws. We are a nation of rights. We are a nation of freedoms. Those who break, repeal, or limit these should be held accountable for their actions. Let your voice be heard and don’t let changes be made without your vote being cast.

We grieve as a people united. We judge as a people divided. We accuse as individuals. The means to unite this nation lies within us all. Respect is as the heart of unification. We must show respect to those lives lost. We must seek to punish those who do not respect the lives of others. We must respect the opinions of others. We must respect the laws of this country.

In the end, no justice can be done to ease the suffering stemming from this event, no law or campaign can change the past, no right can be trampled that would prevent this in the future. What we can do, and what we should all agree upon, is that we need to take time to mourn and remember those who were taken from this world, their families, and the community that will forever be shaken.