‘Get outraged, stay outraged’
The United States is standing by while its citizens, often its children, are slaughtered in batches. None of this will change until Americans decide that enough is truly enough
There was a double tragedy in Parkland, Fla., last week.
The first, clearly, was the murder of 17 people, students and adults alike, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, shot to death in the United States’ latest mass shooting.
The second tragedy was the fatalism and cynicism that quickly followed. Overwhelmingly, the consensus was that nothing will change, at least in the short term.
Americans have seen this movie so many times before and they know how it turns out: empty words from on high, followed by a complete lack of action by political “leaders” in thrall to the gun lobby.
And yet Americans of good will know that this tragic cycle can be broken, if the political will can be found. The facts speak for themselves: the United States is in the grip of an epidemic of gun violence unique in the developed world. It is standing by while its citizens, often its children, are slaughtered in batches.
None of this will change until Americans move beyond fatalism and decide that enough is truly enough.
On this point, we cannot do better than quote some of the more pointed words of our editorial colleagues at newspapers across the United States: USA Today: “Let’s not mince words. Our nation is under attack. If terrorists were shooting up classrooms where our children huddle in fear, the U.S. military would have already launched airstrikes overseas in retaliation.
“But this attack is coming from within. At an appalling and ever quickening pace, growing numbers of Americans are being massacred at churches, concerts, nightclubs, shopping malls and classrooms, and we as a nation are doing virtually nothing to stop it . . . Now is the time for more than thoughts and prayers. It’s time for serious efforts to stop the madness.” San Jose Mercury News: “How many more people, how many more children, must die before members of Congress and President Trump acknowledge that assault weapons have no place on the streets of our country? Will this nation ever unlock itself from the grip of the NRA, which has turned the Republican party and the president into political pawns?” South Florida Sun Sentinel: “It is not ‘politicizing’ someone’s death to do something try to prevent even more deaths. Our elected leaders should act by using their political power to pass sensible gun control and beef up background checks . . . Voters should act by calling their elected leaders and telling them to get to work on solutions. And come Election Day, voters should make sure to get rid of those in office who refused to help.” New Jersey Star-Ledger: “We have a president and Republican Congress that exchanges Valentines with the National Rifle Association . . . We cannot have anything close to a rational discussion about ways to make us safer from these killings because we are in the grip of fanatics; not even the obvious stuff, like trigger locks and background checks. It’s always too soon to talk about guns. It’s always too early until it’s too late.” Los Angeles Times: “We do not live in the Wild West. Our schools are not the O.K. Corral. Clint Eastwood isn’t in this movie. We are a violent, disjointed, gun-embracing culture . . .
“This is what America is today: bloody. The Florida shooting too shall pass, as did Columbine, Sandy Hook, Santa Monica College and so on — all allowed to fade into the backdrop of American memory without a thing being done. This is us. Until we decide finally, forcefully, effectively, that it is not.” New York Times: “The gun lobby’s stranglehold on our elected officials does not need to continue, if candidates stand up to the lobby and voters demand that they commit themselves to the sorts of changes that a vast majority of Americans want . . . With midterm elections coming up this fall, America has a chance to get that message across. Candidates must realize that reducing gun violence is a winning and moral issue. Aggressive turnout by voters who believe this can defeat the NRA at the polls. Until then, the bloodshed will continue.” Chicago Tribune: “We don’t believe that these shootings are impossible to stop — or that the carnage at schools, workplaces, churches and beyond is a status quo that Americans should accept.
Remember: When enough people grew incensed about the thousands of deaths caused by drunken drivers, attitudes changed and tougher laws followed. Same for cigarette smoking. When enough people learned of the deadly risks, when enough complained about smoky offices, restaurants, bars and airplane cabins, the protests brought action . . . These are not perfect analogies. But here’s the crux: Things change when enough Americans determine that they must. When people get outraged by these massacres and stay outraged.”