I wish I did not have to be writing this.

I wish that I did not have to wake up each day expecting bad news.

I wish that our words were taken seriously amongst the opposing people of this nation.

But, here we are, collectively mourning the loss of 59 lives gone too soon, at the hands of yet another unstable human being.

On Sunday, October 1, 64-year-old Stephen Paddock opened fire upon thousands of unsuspecting concertgoers in downtown Las Vegas.

Most of the country is still reeling over how one person could possibly commit such an act, while we continue to wait for updates on the case.

Most of the country is reopening the endless debate of gun control and mental health awareness; a debate that only appears to become relevant after mass murders.

I am not here to argue about guns, right now. I am here to remind you that this violence is unacceptable. I hope we can at least agree on that.

When I woke up on Monday morning to the heartbreaking news of the shooting in Las Vegas, I was dumbfounded and utterly speechless. I know that in times of tragedy, silence is typically the best option. Because no words can bring back the dead, nothing you say to the grieving will possibly make the situation better and our opinions are best left unsaid.

Tuesday, I went to work where I had to put on my smiling mask so that customers did not leave a petty Yelp review about the angry looking barista. I was quiet most of the day and did my best to stay away from situations in which I had to fain friendliness. All I could do was think about the families and friends who must be in so much pain, the victims still fighting for their lives in hospitals and piecing together why a person would commit such an act of terrorism.

Again, I was speechless.

And then, I realized that I had to fight my natural instincts to remain silent.

After major, traumatic events the response is usually “sending thoughts and prayers”, which is a nice gesture, but what are your silent thoughts and silent prayers doing for the families? What are my silent reflections of this nation’s mistakes really doing for the people whose lives were forever changed after this disaster?

I have decided that silence is not the answer and that remaining quiet over the debates of gun control, civil rights and mental illness is not going to help anyone.

I understand that these topics are getting tiresome and that the same arguments are recycled into the mainstream media, but that is no reason to stop talking.

I understand that respecting the dead, wounded and traumatized (and their loved ones) is important. However, we can still continue to demand change while allowing others to privately grieve.

If anything, we should be using those thoughts of the people affected by this act of violence as fuel for our verbal fire.

We need to make our presence known, and make sure that we are heard loud and clear that these laws and procedures are not working.

To hell with silence and to hell with standing by as helpless people who think that we cannot change how we govern this country.

Stop waiting for hundreds more human beings to die.

Stop tiptoeing around the issue at hand and make your voice heard.

We can only be speechless for so long, and personally, I refuse to remain quiet, fearful of offending.

I am no longer speechless.