I don't know how to fix this big broken country we live in.
I've managed to stay pretty much out of any political debates this year. I'm a reasonable person, I vote my conscience, it's pretty straightforward. Political conversations (especially presidential ones) end up going one of two ways: either you're preaching to the choir or having conversations with people who cannot be reasoned with. I'd much rather spend my time discussing nuance, contemplating existence, working on being loving and kind, raising my kids to not be entitled pricks.
But this mass shooting thing? I need to talk about it. NOW. I need to be sad about it. NOW. I need to slap myself out of any desensitization that has washed over me since the last mass shooting, and the one before that, and the one before that. This country is a fucking war zone fueled by fear and hate, but because we have all the gas and groceries and video games and medication and booze and fashion we could ever want, we are somehow able to trick ourselves into thinking that it's a safe place.
No, I really can't fix this. All I can do is listen to my gut and say what I believe and have arguments about it and keep talking about it even after the media frenzy dies down. I don't believe that taking away people's rights to carry assault weapons will solve the problem of hatred and bigotry -- in the same way that I don't believe that building housing for the homeless will solve the problem of poverty, or that putting rapists in jail will solve the problem of misogyny -- but it sure does seem like a good first step.
