I am eighteen years old, and I have never witnessed a shooting. I grew up in the suburbs and was always told that "we live in a nice neighborhood." I had no reason to fear anything other than the monster under my bed. But as I grew up, I learned that the real monsters are not furry with fangs and barbed tails, lurking in the shadows of every child's bedroom. Rather, they're people. They're clerks or mailmen, they're professionals or unemployed, they're classmates or friends. They're people, just like you and me, who could commit crimes so heinous and wretched that they cripple the nation.
I have never witnessed a shooting, but I have lived in fear because of them.
In the United States, we are exposed at an early age to the grim reality that our schools and homes may not be safe. In third grade, I learned about Columbine. In seventh grade, I came home to hear the TV covering the Sandy Hook massacre, and sadly, the tragedy does not end there. A study done by the Washington Post estimates that since 2000, there have been almost 200 school shootings, and they caution that estimate may be low.
In elementary school, we're taught that the government keeps us safe with laws and rules for citizens to follow. We're taught that America was built and continues to thrive as a nation devoted to defending its people. Elementary kids are some of the most patriotic because the horrors and dangers committed in our country's name are deemed too gruesome for their little ears to hear. But then those little ears are the ones hearing gunshots echo through their hallways and classrooms. When tragedy occurs, we are inundated with the opinions of talking heads, calling either for an end to violence or that "the time is not right" that "it is too soon to politicize." We're inundated with news and studies, but what about the voices of the children who grow up in a world like this?
From the moment I learned about Columbine--a reluctant lesson from my third-grade teacher after learning about the legacy of one victim, Rachel Joy Scott--it baffled me as to how something so strange and terrible could occur in the country I called home, much less a school like my own. My sister has just started high school. What if something like that happens to her?
I remembered where I was during the shooting at Sandy Hook. I was in seventh grade, and I had just walked home from school one cold and snowy day. I'd turned on the TV to fill my house with noise, and I was chillingly met with news coverage of another tragedy.
I was horrified for the families of the children, for the country that I lived in, and for my own life. From that day forward, I couldn't go a day without wondering what would happen if someone started shooting. Every first and last day of school, every sports game, every performance and school dance and event became an opportunity for a potential threat. I could plan an escape route out of any room or building I was in at any given moment.
I lived in fear of a sickness killing off dozens, hundreds of kids just like me, and the nation that was supposed to protect us continued to ignore the symptoms.
And then it wasn't just schools, but movie theaters. Churches. Offices. Nightclubs. Concerts. And now synagogues. Places of worship, of community, of love, have become hallowed venues of horror. Everyone lives in fear of being next, from the very young to the very old, and the cause is a result of the polarization gripping our nation.
Especially in recent years, gun control has been a tricky topic for politicians to debate. We've become so polarized and politicized as a nation that even something as simple as protecting children, protecting civilians from death has become a battle of "them" vs "us." When asked how the other side could support such an idea, the argument quickly escalates into a battle of extremes, and the nation is left at a stalemate while more of its citizens are slaughtered.
In current politics, being above the noise and public outcry is seen as admirable. Our own president refuses to apologize or take ownership of the controversial headlines he frequents. Many of his followers, whether in Congress or in society, follow in his lead. But this ignorance is not bliss, and only results in a higher death toll.
In addition to the school shootings, according to the Washington Post, there have been more than 150 mass shootings in the United States since 1966. 94 of these mass shootings occurred within the last two decades. 737 lives were taken during these 94 tragedies, and this does not include gun-violence related deaths on the streets of major cities like Chicago, instances of domestic violence, suicides, and other homicides.
There are countless statistics and reports on the effects of gun violence within the United States, and there is a flare-up in their relevance when more lives have been lost. Some become desensitized to tragedies like this, simply commenting that they're bound to happen again and there is nothing we as citizens can do. Some think the solution is to militarize schools and concerts and places of worship because having armed guards will protect the people inside.
Security guards carry revolvers, which have about seven to nine rounds of bullets inside. Mass shooters carry assault rifles, which have about 600 rounds of bullets inside.
How can a security guard fend off a mass shooter? Luck?
No, the answer is not to militarize the lives of citizens but to remove the cause of death entirely from their hands. The implementation of stricter gun regulations would ensure a stark decline in the number of gun-violence related deaths in the United States. Cooperation between both political parties on the matter, fueled by the understanding that this is not a partisan issue but a human one, will form a defense against those that commit these senseless hate crimes, their extremist political views rendered obsolete.
When an epidemic like this continues to plague the nation, the remedy has been, is, and will always be action.
Action so worshippers can thank their gods in peace.
Action so concert-goers and nightclubbers can sing along at the top of their lungs.
Action so students across the country can go to school and come home safely each and every day.
Action so the fear of a becoming a statistic in a tragedy is entirely and finally quelled.
