So I had intended to post this a few days ago, but because of the nature of this ramble, I wanted to give it a few days and really make sure I had my thoughts organized and well-expressed.
As the weekend passed, so did the year anniversary of the Sandy Hook school shooting which claimed the lives of twenty children and six more adults. Since that shooting, nearly twenty more children have been claimed by school shootings. It is with a heavy heart that I read these reports, which regrettably seem to be popping up in the news with the frequency of sour weather reports in winter time. All too often. But I have something of a different reaction that pairs with my heavy heart: confused anger.
And it's not anger towards the situation itself, though I have been know to have my own Carlin-esque like rants towards these school shooters and their upbringing, which may be unfair to pigeon hole them and their parents the way that I do, but hey, that's what the First Amendment is there for, right? And I don't find myself angry at the politicians that give speeches and condolences and circulating eulogies after such terrors occur, and then, a week later, seemingly couldn't remember where they were or what they were saying to whom. No, I find myself angry at society. I find myself angry at society because, after all is said and done, after all the smoke from the news crew vans and press-mobiles have drifted upwards and cleared, after the stories have made their way from front-page-above-the-fold stories to seven pages back next to the high school sport scores and yard-sale listings, it is as if lake is back to normal.
When you throw a rock in a lake, there a period of disarray and chaos. Ripples. But after sometime, the ripples become less and less intrusive and defined until, finally, almost in the amount of time a blink takes, the lake is still again. Like no one had thrown a rock at all.
Now I will say that, after Sandy Hook, there was a lot of political debate and legislation that occurred, and frankly, no matter what side of the fence you are on about school safety, guns laws, concealed weapon laws, etc. I am glad so much talk happened.
But why is it us, the people who practice love and acceptance, oneness and tolerance, that are called the dreamers? Why is it that claim that love REALLY IS the strongest choice are called the radicals? Is it so wrong to dream that there really is a bond out there that can unite us all? Now, I'm not saying that everyone drop their differences, throw on a bandana and some bell-bottoms, find a wheat field, and start frolicking hand-in-hand while 'Age of Aquarius' blasts through the airwaves. All I'm saying is start small. Practice small acts of love a day. Smile at one extra person. When you shake someone's hand, really be there with them. Say hello to someone, someone that looks like they're having a bad day. Take public transportation? Compliment somebody on what they're wearing or the book they're reading while you're going from stop to stop.
People want to know that they exist, that they aren't just biding their time here and that can only come from the people that they are around everyday. It is proven that saying 'hello' to someone or smiling at a stranger will make their day and improve their mental state. So it is really that hard to change someone's life? No. It's not.
It is time that we stop being labeled as the dreamers. It is time that we start becoming the difference makers. Just because we don't have lobbyists and constituents and our faces on a 50 ft. billboard saying 'Vote For Me' and some cheesy, Hallmark-rejected slogan, doesn't mean that we don't have the ability to affect and inspire. Dreams do come true and the dreamers can become the doers.
Like John said, You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I'm not the only one angry at being laughed and scoffed at for what I believe in and what I think can be done. So join us. Beat the same heart. Breath the same breathe. Exercise the same love. And the world as two can then become one.
Ramble on my friends
Dave
