 |
| All people should want kids to feel safe, right? |
This past Saturday I participated in the Fort Worth March
for Our Lives rally. I was greatly impressed by the eloquence and maturity of
the young people who organized the event (and I’ve known one of them since she
was three years old, so this was a pretty proud moment). I Instagramed and
Facebooked several photos in real time and was pleasantly surprised at how
civil my friends were, even those I knew had vastly different political beliefs.
The thing is, March for Our Lives is not a liberal issue. It is an issue
everyone should stand up for: to protect our children from violence in our
schools, as well as in our streets and homes. You can be pro-life and support
children who are already born from dying in their classrooms. You can be a gun
owner and still think that regulations should be in place to keep people with
mental illness or multiple police visits from getting fire arms. You can stand
by more than one political issue. In fact, that’s what makes our country a truly
independent nation- the ability to have more than just a straight-ticket
opinion about issues. Have we really become so polarized to believe that if
liberals or conservatives support something, then whichever side we identify
with, we should oppose the other?
What has become of our society? Have we really gotten to the
point that, when children are afraid and speak out about their fears, adults
think it is appropriate to mock them? A great nation (supposedly a Christian
one) should not act this way towards its citizens. This emotionally immature
behavior has to stop. Our leaders need to stick to the issues. Our leaders need
to spend less time making fun of other people and get to work. There is no room
in our future for people who cannot be decent to one another. It is a greatly
held belief that “to get respect, you must first give it”— but who decides
which person does this first? You do. I challenge everyone reading to approach
your fellow human with respect, and more than likely, you will get it. If you
don’t get respect back, well…that’s on the other person. You be the better
human, even though it’s easier (and sometimes more satisfying) to have a great comeback.
