Things I have seen about the world today are as follows: Kim Kardashian says I “should really wear fall boots with skirts," Facebook showed me a super cute video of kittens meeting puppies for the first time, and I was told by a good friend that it was supposed to be cold outside all week.
Very nice.
I am now writing this article at 10:24 p.m.
As I scroll through my Facebook timeline, as I hop on Twitter, as I talk to teachers and friends and acquaintances throughout the day, I see and hear nothing about the tragedy. An entire 12 hours passed since the shooting occurred, yet it has been a mere 30 minutes since I was first made aware of it. Meanwhile 10 people lost their lives and more were injured, some with physical scars to be covered in gauze and others with emotional scars that will never heal.
Today I heard devastating news. Today I heard that, as of now, 10 people were killed in a shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon, according to CNN.com.
That happened 12 hours ago.
I remember the color of the carpet I was sitting on in my kindergarten class on Sept. 11 when I heard the news. I remember the time of day I learned about Columbine. I remember the sleeve I wiped my tears away with as I cried the day of Sandy Hook.
But today I heard of a tragedy that will be placed alongside all of those deep cuts mass murderers have left on America’s lifeline, and it took an entire day for me to hear about it. This makes me as devastated as the news did.
How was I not bombarded with news of the shooting? Is society so desensitized with death and tragedy that it wasn’t the only thing on every social or news outlet available?
Was I sitting in front of a TV all day watching the news? No.
Was I scrolling on CNN’s website all day? No.
It is their job to update the world on breaking news. It is our job, however, to simply care. Whether it is sharing on Facebook, posting on Twitter, mourning for those who lost their lives or lost their loved ones, show you care.
People died today. People died at the hands of another person. In a world where the shooters and murderers and the evil gets more attention than the victims, I will not give one ounce of energy by saying his name, the name of the man who gave no value to the human lives he took.
But I will give energy to the idea that human lives matter. The loss of them should be what today is about. Not about Kim Kardashian’s fall fashion or the impending weather of the week.
When my sister told me about the shooting, infuriated and devastated, she finishes by saying a statement chilling me to the bone.
“There are two places we should be inherently safe: schools and churches.”
Our history shows that her statement is a wish and a dream and a beautiful utopia, but not our reality.
Maybe there isn’t a safe place where guns won’t fire and humans can’t kill humans, but we do have the ability to create a place where humans love humans -- where lives truly matter.
Let us heal the masses.
Love on each other today and tomorrow and always.
