Speaking truthfully, the United States of America is a hopeful nation. On average, we believe our leaders will do what is best for our country. It’s why we elect them. But now we are asking Republicans for something huge.

We are asking for gun reform.

Now call me cynical and a summertime “snowflake” but I don’t think it’s going to happen. For a brief moment, I thought it would. When the Sandy Hook shooting happened, I was so sure everyone would get behind it. After all, 20 school children between the ages of six and seven were massacred.

But nothing happened. Nothing changed.

I figured if Republicans wouldn’t budge when looking at a memorial dedicated to children under the age of ten, they wouldn’t budge for anything.

Because here’s the thing: Republicans really don’t need you to like them. They really only need two things, and the first is money.

Money makes the Congressional world go ‘round. If you have money, then you have a seat. Money gets you the exposure that you need to get your platform across to the public.

Unsurprisingly, the Republican party reaps a plentiful reward by sucking up to the NRA. If you watched Emma Gonzales’s speech in which she addresses NRA funding, you already know Trump received $30 million in his pursuit to win the 2016 election.

Also, thanks to this handy-dandy article from the New York Times, you can see the top 10 NRA career recipients in both the House and the Senate.

I’m not saying all those who oppose gun control are Republican, I’m just saying it’s very likely that all those who oppose gun control receive money from the NRA and it’s very likely that all those who receive money from the NRA are Republican.

Because, listen, the NRA has its own Political Action Committee. They pump money into this thing which is specifically tailored to influence the outcome of elections and proposed legislation. Just after the Sandy Hook shooting, afraid that guns would be taken away, donors increased their donations to $22 million dollars for the 2014 election cycle.

My point is clear: the NRA receives monetary donations to oppose gun reform. The NRA donates this money to get people who will oppose gun reform elected or re-elected. And, as I’ve stated before, these people are very likely to be Republican.

Anyway, I digress.

The second thing that Republicans need from you is to forget that this even happened.

This sounds harsh, but it is true. The families of the victims won’t ever forget, but those of us who watch all of this through a screen can easily let this slip out of our lives. Republicans feed off of those people. Why? Because those are the people that get them elected.

Those people managed to forget how much their heart hurt when they saw 26 faces on the screen after Sandy Hook. The NRA was able to get their advocates elected. Now there are 17 faces on our screen, and I don’t plan on forgetting. I am going to make it very clear that I will remember those faces.

Those faces are enough for me to say, “Nothing else matters.” Because, quite frankly, they don’t matter. This wall doesn’t matter. This “travel ban” doesn’t matter. Children will begin to wonder if their school is next. Schools should not be associated with that kind of rhetoric.

I encourage you to believe the same.

So long as you don’t forget, you will hold Republicans accountable. You will hold all NRA donation recipients accountable. The only way you can get Congress to address gun reform in your favor is to say, “I remember those faces. It’s either you go my way or the high way.”

Yes, money makes the world go ‘round but your vote matters. Republicans can pump as much money as they want into their campaigns, but let them know they are wasting it because you won’t stand for people who do not stand for children. Because you remember those children.

But, before I go, to everyone who feels I have unjustly attacked the Republican party.

Make me apologize.Prove me wrong.

Pass gun reform. I’m not saying take guns away, I’m just saying make it more difficult for the mentally ill to kill our children. Once that happens, I will wholeheartedly apologize.

And, after apologizing, I’ll make sure to say, “Thank you.”