2015: What is the World Coming to?
I was doing my random internet surfing today; low and behold, I happened to stumble upon an IU sophomore student missing, another IU student deceased in an alleged murder-suicide, and another senseless mass shooting in Oregon. Before I go off on a tangent, I first want to send all of my deepest condolences to the families and friends who are affected by these tragic actions. At this point, I’m lost for words, and all I really have to say is, may God be with us. That being said, my question is if there’s anything that can actually be done? I’m starting to doubt that there actually is. Well what if we tighten gun laws, or ban the use of guns? I’m not sure that banning guns will solve any problems either; it just stops people from using guns to kill. Unfortunately, violence is inevitable.
In his latest speech, Obama calls out Congress for blocking collection of data on shooting incidents. There’s so many things wrong with that one detail. Why is congress blocking the collection of potentially vital information? Why was this not being harped upon on CNN? Why is the media not invading privacy to find out? Congress does not seem to be working towards a solution for this reoccurring problem in America. Obama references the notion that each time a shooting happens, he’s going to say that something has to be done about this, and laws have to be changed. He then added that “this is not something I can do by myself”. No president can do anything effectively by himself. They refuse to work with the president in order to combat these tragic events. This is just another unfortunate example of how Barack Obama and Congress are not on the same page. We are obviously no longer one nation, under God. In my opinion, there is ultimately nothing Obama or any other future president can do. There is definitely nothing Congress can do, except actually work with the leader of the free world as opposed to work against him. Here’s some small things I think we could do as a nation. One, how about the media stops bombarding the families of the victims with obvious and useless questions like, asking them to recall the events of what happened. How about instead of asking stupid/obvious questions, let the families alone and start raising awareness about the need for gun control laws?
So many times, the privacy of the families is asked to be respected, but yet, they are abused by the media. We all know the media just wants stories to get viewers, which is downright evil. But we don’t need to know what was running through the minds of the families and friends, because quite frankly it’s useless and ineffective. This is the world we live in- the media would rather shove microphones in people’s faces, literally during a time of crisis, instead of being preemptive in finding a solution. What a shame. If I were those friends or family members, I would grab the microphone a heave it back into their face, and ask how does it feel to be a part of the problem? Then I’d say, if I were you, I would seek out one of those Congress members and ask what he’s done lately to combat issues like this?
Nonetheless, this is bigger than any president, or Congress. It’s about the people’s hope and faith in God that he’ll see us through these trying times. Some details floating around about the shooter, is that he believed in this notion that “the material world” is a lie. Well that’s no secret. How many more of these calamities must we endure before we figure it out? To Congress, I forgive you, for you know not what you do. After all, you’re just human like everyone else. All we can do is have faith in our lord God, because without him, there is no America. Don’t misunderstand me. God is, and will always be the answer. But we must first learn to change ourselves, before we can change our world.
Sincerely,
Bernard McFarland
Works Cited
Collinson, Stephen. "Obama on Oregon Shooting: 'Somehow This Has Become Routine' - CNNPolitics.com." CNN. Cable News Network, 2 Oct. 2015. Web. 02 Oct. 2015.
