You can't get on social media, browse the news, or turn on the TV without seeing gun violence in front of you. Our world is surrounded by mass shootings, school shootings, and domestic violence. None of this is new. Guns aren't new. Mass shootings unfortunately, are not new. What's new is the way in which we sensationalize these things within the news and the increased rate in which these incidents are occurring.
And everyone wants to know - how do we stop this? How do we make our world a safer place for our children and ourselves?
I don't know the answer. I have an internal argument with myself quite often when it comes to gun control and what the right answer is. What I do know is that we have to do something. Continuing to issue thoughts and prayers, that's not enough. Continuing to listen to each side bicker is not providing a solution.
When I don't know how to solve a problem - I turn to education. I do research, I study facts and I talk to people knowledgeable on the subject in order to gain a better understanding of the problem.
In regards to gun violence - I think we need to start with education.
Recently a friend posted an article from NPR that I found inspired.
Read the article. A bunch of smart guys who study school violence got together and tried to figure out how we move forward in preventing the next Parkland shooting. For context, this was only two weeks of intense research and discussion, but it's the best start I've seen for us to start with moving forward. Since its publication, over 200 Universities, professors, and experts have come out in support of the basic idea: "Don't harden schools. Make them softer, by improving social and emotional health."
The program created a concise eight step National Call to Action:
"A public health approach to protecting children as well as adults from gun violence involves three levels of prevention: (1) universal approaches promoting safety and well-being for everyone; (2) practices for reducing risk and promoting protective factors for persons experiencing difficulties; and (3) interventions for individuals where violence is present or appears imminent"
I'm a huge fan of any call to action that starts with education and health. Do I think we need some reform when it comes to guns? Absolutely. But simply affecting those laws is not going to solve the problem. We need to also combat violence with education as well as mental and social health policy reform.
Truly - I wish there was one answer and we could end this horrific time in America, but there's not. Anyone claiming there's one root problem (whether that be guns or mental health), is very wrong. I'll even say ignorant. Actually - one of the major issues in America right now is that we are all so set in our ways - in taking sides - in being right or wrong - that we can't solve any problems.
I ask that you take the time to get informed, to be open minded, and to understand that we have this one world so we better figure out how to work together for compromise because without that, violence and poverty and racism - all the ugliest parts of our world, will continue to flourish.