“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” – The Second Amendment
America’s children are not being taught how to spell, determine the slope of an angle or to cite the preamble to the Declaration of Independence.
Instead, America’s children are learning to use textbooks as projectiles. They are learning how to fight. They are learning that fire alarms are just as useful for gunfire as they are for grease fires and chemistry accidents.
America’s children are entering a war zone Monday through Friday, 180 days a year. They are pledging allegience five days a week to a nation that is bound and determined to watch them be slaughtered.
They are slaughtered partially because we, the free people of the American nation, are afforded an uninfringeable right to bear arms.
The blood of America’s children—no, just children—has stained more than just the clothes of rescuers, doctors and loved ones in the midst of immense grief. Their blood has dried dark upon the skin of more than just those who use firearms to cause intentional harm. We have all been stained by this vicious cycle.
Guns aren’t the only issue in America, but they are certainly a symptom of the disease that plagues our way of life. Guns, or rather our attachment to and methods of using them, are making evident the many holes in the fabric of our society.
The Second Amendment refers to the “security of a free State.”
We are certainly free. But are we secure?
We grieve with each murder. Each bullet that finds a resting place inside the shell of what was once a person only leaves us fighting with our neighbors more.
Guns may not be the only problem, but with each new mass shooting and each new run, hide, fight procedure that our children are taught, we uncover more of our disease.
The problem isn’t that some want all of America’s guns confiscated or that others want all Americans to have a gun holstered upon their belt.
The problem isn’t that we are afraid of the government killing us all off after they’ve taken our guns. It isn’t that we must have the right to form a militia if our government gets out of hand, either. All of these things are only symptoms.
The problem also isn’t that we don’t love our children or want our neighbors to live.
The problem?
We all want to live more than we want to die, and in a gun fight, nobody hopes to bring a knife. We have pledged allegiance to our safety net for too long. Guns are no longer keeping us safe. It is time to reconsider.