Mohandas Gandhi once said, "an eye for an eye will make the whole world blind." That is what comes to mind when I look at the news and hear about the endless amount of domestic and international deaths happening every day.

It is impossible to wish for peace in a world of guns and war and nuclear weapons, but how can we live in a world dominated by fear? Children shouldn't be afraid to go to school and people shouldn't be afraid to go to concerts or crowded places, but at this rate, do we even dare take the chance?

This article won't end the hatred and violence that happens, because as much as we wish it could, words are just simply words. But maybe, just maybe, words will one day be enough.

So here's a letter to anyone who's listening...

Here is my question.

How many tears need to stain the ground before we all drown in grief?

How many people won't have a chance to say goodbye before it is too late?

How many guns will be fired?

How many tables will lose a place setting?

How many flowers will need to be sent?

How many candles will need to be lit?

How many more times will people cry after simply reading the latest news?

How many voices will be silenced before they even had a chance to speak?

How many movies will be made trying to get the message across that violence never wins?

How many articles will be written trying to make sense of it all?

How many people will miss a birthday?

How many people didn't get the chance to have their first kiss?

How many people didn't get the chance to start a family?

How many people were robbed of their life before truly living?

How many funerals will be held?

How many people will fear to leave their homes?

How many events will be shut down and evacuated?

How many times do we have to watch history repeat itself?

How many times will we have to fail to finally succeed?

How many stories will go untold?

How many great minds will the world truly miss out on?

How many people will be killed for their beliefs?

How many people will be killed by the way they talk or the way they walk?

How many people will be killed for simply being born different?

How many lives have to be lost before it's too late to go back?

These questions don't have specific answers. They can't. The numbers grow every day and the fear grows with them.

But what is clear is that it is too many.

Sincerely,

Someone who just wants to make it stop