Enough Is Enough, And Enough Is Now | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post

Enough Is Enough, And Enough Is Now

The change won’t happen overnight, but nothing good ever does.

55
Enough Is Enough, And Enough Is Now
Flickr

“America is the greatest country in the world.”

“America the beautiful.”

“America -- the land of opportunity.”

“America -- the land of the free.”

Throughout the course of my life, these are various sayings that I have heard multiple times. Growing up, I believed them to be true. Then, as I experienced more of life and continued to read more and more gruesome and horrific headlines on the news with every passing day, I came to realize that these proclamations are false.

In 2012, we all thought the world was going to end. Okay, maybe not ALL of us, but some of us. And although the world didn’t exactly end in the way we expected it to, it still did.

On December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut, 20 children - innocent, sweet, and pure - were fatally shot in what we now remember as the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

At the time, I was only in the 8th grade, and to be honest, I couldn’t really fully wrap my head around the fact that someone targeted children. Children who were only six to seven years younger than us at that time. So, in that way, the world did end. Perhaps not the world, but at least the United States, the very country so many of us claim to be the greatest place in the world. Its remnants of innocence and purity died. The last slivers that so many of us had tried to hold onto, died.

The children who had survived that horrible shooting grew up faster than children ever should. They experienced firsthand what tragedy and horror and fear feels like - something we should never have to experience that young.

We no longer could consider ourselves a nation that valued the lives of each and every individual. Instead, we became a nation that has more school shootings in the course of a year than another country over the course of ten years.

Fast forward several years, and here I am - a freshman in college. Time sure has flown past us, but things sure haven’t changed. Not in the ways I hoped, at least.

Instead, I’m waking up nearly every single day with a new headline on TV.

“School shooting…”

“Students fatally shot…”

“Gunman walks into school…”

This type of news headline has become something so common to our lives that many people, including myself, are slowly becoming desensitized. Although it hasn’t gotten to the point where I turn a blind eye, it’s almost sickening to think that this is what our nation has gotten used to.

To make matters even worse, our government refuses to make the changes that we so desperately need them to make.

Take Australia, for example. After one of their worst mass shootings in 1996, the federal government implemented newer and stricter gun control laws. Since then, they have not had a single mass shooting.

Is this something not worth examining?

Our schools and our governments sure regulate a lot of sh*t (like dress code… we’re more focused on what females wear to school), but when it comes to the lives of our people, we don’t do a very good job of prioritizing that.

I used to believe that if the government wouldn’t even change for the CHILDREN of Sandy Hook, they would never change. Think about that. If we won’t change for children, who will we change for?

Today, I woke up to more news headlines.

But they weren’t the ones I had been so used to seeing on an almost weekly basis. They were still about guns, sure, but finally in the ways that I wanted them to be.

I woke up to read about the National School Walkout . Finally, we have had enough. If the older generations won’t help us make the change, we’ll make the change ourselves. If the government won't make the change, we'll show them that we won't take no for an answer. We'll show them that we have had enough and that it is time (long-overdue, if I must say) for change to happen.

Waking up and reading about hundreds of schools, and therefore, thousands of students, walking out to fight for our rights and our lives made me so proud.

Reading about how students back at my high school walked out gave me a sense of pride.

Finally, we’re doing something right.

The change won’t happen overnight. But nothing good ever does. It won’t be easy and we’ll have to fight against millions of people who are more focused on protecting their right to own a gun than protecting the lives of their people.

But enough is enough, and enough starts now.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Featured

15 Mind-Bending Riddles

Hopefully they will make you laugh.

180410
 Ilistrated image of the planet and images of questions
StableDiffusion

I've been super busy lately with school work, studying, etc. Besides the fact that I do nothing but AP chemistry and AP economics, I constantly think of stupid questions that are almost impossible to answer. So, maybe you could answer them for me, and if not then we can both wonder what the answers to these 15 questions could be.

Keep Reading...Show less
Entertainment

Most Epic Aurora Borealis Photos: October 2024

As if May wasn't enough, a truly spectacular Northern Lights show lit up the sky on Oct. 10, 2024

7426
stunning aurora borealis display over a forest of trees and lake
StableDiffusion

From sea to shining sea, the United States was uniquely positioned for an incredible Aurora Borealis display on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, going into Friday, Oct. 11.

It was the second time this year after an historic geomagnetic storm in May 2024. Those Northern Lights were visible in Europe and North America, just like this latest rendition.

Keep Reading...Show less
 silhouette of a woman on the beach at sunrise
StableDiffusion

Content warning: This article contains descriptions of suicide/suicidal thoughts.

When you are feeling down, please know that there are many reasons to keep living.

Keep Reading...Show less
Relationships

Power of Love Letters

I don't think I say it enough...

452600
Illistrated image of a letter with 2 red hearts
StableDiffusion

To My Loving Boyfriend,

  • Thank you for all that you do for me
  • Thank you for working through disagreements with me
  • Thank you for always supporting me
  • I appreciate you more than words can express
  • You have helped me grow and become a better person
  • I can't wait to see where life takes us next
  • I promise to cherish every moment with you
  • Thank you for being my best friend and confidante
  • I love you and everything you do

To start off, here's something I don't say nearly enough: thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart. You do so much for me that I can't even put into words how much I appreciate everything you do - and have done - for me over the course of our relationship so far. While every couple has their fair share of tiffs and disagreements, thank you for getting through all of them with me and making us a better couple at the other end. With any argument, we don't just throw in the towel and say we're done, but we work towards a solution that puts us in a greater place each day. Thank you for always working with me and never giving up on us.

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

11 Signs You Grew Up In Hauppauge, NY

Because no one ever really leaves.

23344
Map of Hauppauge, New York
Google

Ah, yes, good old Hauppauge. We are that town in the dead center of Long Island that barely anyone knows how to pronounce unless they're from the town itself or live in a nearby area. Hauppauge is home to people of all kinds. We always have new families joining the community but honestly, the majority of the town is filled with people who never leave (high school alumni) and elders who have raised their kids here. Around the town, there are some just some landmarks and places that only the people of Hauppauge will ever understand the importance or even the annoyance of.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments