I’m not religious but I have nothing against praying. Or even thoughts.
But too often they don’t seem to go together.
It would be easy this Labor Day Weekend to post a fun song, a political song, or a snide song. One about workers uniting, workers goofing off, or one about a pregnant woman going into labor because, well, it’s a pun on the holiday, right?
But let’s not.
Instead let’s take a few moments to think of the two kids who were murdered while praying at a Catholic school in Minneapolis, and the other 18 who were injured – many of whom are quite young and some of whom are fighting for their lives.
In particular, I think about the best friend of a 9 year old I saw on the news who recounted how his buddy instinctively jumped on top of him and saved his life by taking a bullet in the back.
Supposedly he’s going to fine but I can’t help but wonder about the effect this traumatizing event will have on the rest of their adult lives.
I pray they’ll get over this but let’s face it, that’s just an expression in my case. And even if I went to a synagogue and formed a minion of a hundred or a thousand different Jews (Note: If they even let me in after all this time), I would instinctually know it will take a lot more than that for these two kids to emerge unscathed.
Meaning, my prayers might comfort me and others and even be reassuring to some of the families but I don’t magically think that this will replace good parenting, therapy or community love and support in helping these kids heal.
No more than I believe a blessing from the Pope, or whoever else one believes in, will replace a good surgeon when it comes to removing the bullet(s) from that young man’s back.
No more than I believe gun control of some kind – perhaps even a ban on assault weapons nationwide, won’t reduce the increasing number of mass shootings, many of them at schools.
And no more than I believe that if this last shooter was indeed a troubled young person from the trans community, demonizing that community will do anything but spread hate.
Especially since the hundreds of mass shooters that came before this were almost entirely young straight white men.
Certainly, I’m not on a campaign against THOSE people.
Or any person of faith.
Despite what Vice President J.D. Vance desperately wants to lay at the altar of all those, including myself, who believe something must be done to eliminate the proliferation of guns in the U.S. (Note: There are now MORE GUNS THAN PEOPLE IN THE U.S.)
That would be the majority of Americans.
The ones who are angry, sad and often enraged that at times like these the thoughts and prayers police, a MINORITY of the country, can constantly be counted on to change the subject to how anti-faith community the rest of us are for demanding action.
If they so virulently believe in the power of thoughts and prayers why not spend more time sending some of that to “endangered” blue cities instead of armed masked men with guns and military grade weapons, a la all those shooters, to patrol what they see as our dangerous, crime-ridden streets in the name of peace and safety?
Does it not occur to them that the images of so many men with guns on patrol in the tranquil city streets and surrounding suburban and rural communities of Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Chicago and who knows where’s next, might give even more people ideas?
Something to think about.
And maybe pray on.
Lana Del Rey – “Looking for America”
notes from a chair 