Before I begin on this…difficult topic, I want to stress that I do not mean to offend anyone or upset their beliefs, whether they be political, sexual, spiritual, or anything else. I’m trying appeal to your sense of reason in that while this is no laughing matter, there just might be a silver lining here.

Unless you’ve had earmuffs on for the past several weeks, you know about the events that transpired in Orlando. A lone gunman entered and killed 49 people in an LGBTQ nightclub before being gunned down by police. I’m sure everyone is familiar with the story by now.

News outlets of all sorts have not been hesitant to get their own drop on the story. Even now, more than two weeks after that fatal night, broadcasts have consistently featured testimonies from victims, locals, and “experts” asserting this and that. Talk of policy change, implementation, and presidential candidates’ reactions to the tragedy is not uncommon on the airwaves right now.

But if I’m totally honest, I can’t help but be disappointed.

This always happens when a big ordeal comes around. Outlets seem to be more concerned with the implications of what the shooting will bring to the social fabric of the United States rather than on the tragedy itself. And 49 people died. That’s a large room full of people, gone. Regardless of anyone’s personal beliefs on the topic of sexuality (including my own), now is not the time to be at each other’s' throats over that or any number of other related things.

We, as a nation, may have just suffered one of the biggest terror attacks on home soil in the history or our nation. In the wake of this, I believe that now is the time to come together as a people. We can do better than pointing fingers and spouting hate. Why? It’s because we’re human.

Take a look at the nations of the world and you will see that everyone is different. Even among nations that have been around for thousands of years, you will not find two people completely alike in every way. And that is totally fine. You will get no assertion from me that I’m the best role model a person could possibly have, but I am of the opinion that all human beings deserve to be treated as such. Are you a conscious being capable of rational thought and feeling? If so, then I will treat you like so. And I’m certain there are many others who share my thoughts in some shape or form.

This attack was a violation of that principle. Strip away all political agendas and excess details, and it boils down to one man who disagreed with a group’s lifestyle and did something about it. Now people are gone, never to return, because of it. We are all different, but we are also all the same. We all live on this planet, and we are all human. We will never have a one-hundred percent utopian society, for that’s just human nature. But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try and get along.

I am not a part of the LGBTQ community, but the event depresses me to a great degree. Loss of life, on any front, is a tragedy that cannot and should not, be ignored. Not to advance the political programs of Democrats, Republicans, moderates, or whomever else, but because we are all in this together. We all might not agree on what is natural, the human condition, or what comes after death, but we are all on the same team. Not just as citizens of the United States, but of Europe, Asia, Africa...of the world.

In 2001, 9/11 struck. Death came to our door. And what did we do? Homosexuals, heterosexuals, Christians, Muslims, Jews, atheists, whites, blacks, Hispanics and all citizens of every race, ethnicity, religion, gender and sexual orientation came together, and now is the time to do so again.

Love is quieter than bullets, but there’s more of it in this world.