Stop with your tantrums

I am still trying to process what happened in Parkland, FL this week. I cannot comprehend how a man would even get the thought of taking a weapon and gunning down a school. I couldn’t even kill a mouse in my apartment.

Being who I am, I want to get to the root cause of the tragedy. What led this sociopath to become a sociopath? Where were his people, his community? I am certainly not blaming anyone but him…but these questions beg to be answered.

Unfortunately, tragedy brings out the very worst in Americans. Instead of grieving, engaging in dialogue, trying to figure out why and then enacting change, we start YELLING AT THE TOP OF OUR LUNGS ONLY WANTING OUR OWN VOICES TO BE HEARD.

GUNS ARE EVIL! GUNS KILL PEOPLE!!!!! 

DON’T TAKE AWAY MY GUNS!!!! I NEED MY GUNS!!!!!

MOMMY, I WANT THAT CANDY BAR RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

America, please stop with your temper tantrums. If you would breathe and listen to the other side, you’d find that we all have the same end goals.

1. We all want to feel safe.
2. We all want to know that when our kids go to school, that they will come home alive.
3. We all want existing laws to actually be enforced.

Does anyone disagree with those 3 line items? It’s not a comprehensive list…but I hope it can be a starting point for a logical discussion. Common ground is necessary for dialogue to begin.

I know that this is just a bunch of words written on a social media platform. Some people will read what I’ve written and attack. Some will applaud. I hope that everyone who reads this takes a step back and realizes that, though we may have different ideas on how to get to the end goal, as long as we have the same goal, we can have a conversation.