A Question of Guns in a land of Murder

San Bernardino California.  Fourteen killed.  Assault rifles.  Two dead suspects.  Public pain. Private mourning.  Youth and wisdom gone Forever. 

Appeals for stiffer gun laws countered by "people kill people", guns are only ancillary.  The President appearing before us numb and dejected.  Nobody knows what to do or how to stop the kind of violence that erupts suddenly and without mercy.

In sum, our collective response has become "speechlessness".  We are not one iota closer to resolution than we were hundreds of years ago when terror struck.  And terror has been around since humans have been around.

Instead, we spend endless hours debating whether San Bernardino was an "act of terrorism" or not?  What the shooters motives really were?  But they are dead.  And terror struck--need it have another name?

In today's world there is no safe haven.  Armed militia roam our streets and schools. They lend an aura of safety, but do they keep us safe?

So then, you say, what should we do?  If we cannot stop the violence, should we prepare to die on an undisclosed day at an unknown location?  Should we get our affairs in order?  Live our lives to the fullest? Give ourselves over to the unstoppable?  Or should we pray for new weapons of defense, better technology, and smarter leaders?

I say no to all of the above.  For the above is what we have always done.  And nothing has changed.  In fact, one might argue, it has only gotten worse.

Sow trust, compassion, forgiveness, a smile, and a helping hand wherever you are and as often as you can. These actions do not involve money, power, guns, fear, doubt or revenge. They are positive tokens one gives freely to another.  Tokens that can then be passed on even if the giver is unaware that they have done so.

Such acts are already occurring throughout our globe, but infrequently do we hear or read of them.  We sorely need more stories in the media about the Good News.  Positive actions that brings warmth and light back into our damaged world.

People who kill people through acts of terror have lost their way.  Every ethnicity and religion has fallen victim to their acts.  Anger, hate and fear are deadly weapons.  Our job is to replace them with their opposites.  Not for one day or one year, but as a way of life going forward every moment of every day!