Whenever there is a mass shooting, the hash tag #prayfor appears. And certainly, prayer is a good thing. Self-reflection and positive thoughts are good things, if you’re not into prayer. But I have to agree with the New York Daily News after San Bernadino, “God isn’t fixing this”. God may weep, as Jesus did. But it’s up to us to fix it.
By all means, pray. But also, call out our hate culture. Call out those who profit from it. Call out demeaning, stereotypical jokes and rhetoric and call out misinformation. Resist the urge to oversimplify just to assign easy blame. Vote. Speak up. Give a damn. Some things are worth rocking the boat. Pray for Columbine and Tuscon and San Bernardino. Pray for Aurora and Newtown and Roseburg. For Colorado Springs and UCLA. Pray for every child who asks, But could that ever happen here? and does lock down drills in their elementary school. But don’t stop there.
I’m so tired of that Mr. Rogers’ “look for the helpers” quote. It was comforting the first half dozen times. Now it’s just another sign of another black day, as ubiquitous as the red banner scrolling across our Internet and television screens. I’m tired of that J.R.R. Tolkien quote about peril, grief, and love shining brighter. I’m tired of looking for the bright side and I’m tired of being told that good is stronger than evil, in the end.
Good may hold advantage over evil. That’s such a distinct choice. But I’m terribly afraid it will smother in apathy. The 24-hour news cycle marches on and with each new, more horrific body count, we grow anesthetized to the reality of what those numbers mean to families across the country. We’re appalled, but not so appalled as to consider compromise about gun legislation. After all, criminals don’t heed laws. We’re heartbroken, but not so heartbroken as to make equality the absolute standard of our land. The two are completely separate issues.
We’re adept at memes and hash tags. At signing online petitions. But we’re less skilled at seeing how our everyday choices contribute to our world and our news reel. We’re not evil, but we’re not Fred Rogers’ helpers, either. And until we do better, that question, Where does it end?
Well, it doesn’t.