This week, on our first July 4th in Ohio, I was feeling a little nostalgic. For most of our 40 years in Wheaton we celebrated the 4th at least in part with the community’s traditional, homegrown parade, which always began with a few dozen firetrucks blasting their sirens and waving to the crowds. Then came the local politicos, the high school band, the boy scouts and girl scouts. The local VFW usually showed up, as did the Shriners in their mini race cars and Uncle Sam on stilts handing out candy.
For several years, beginning when my son was a toddler and my daughter a newborn, we attended the parade with a handful of neighborhood families, always gathering on the same corner. As with all things, time marched on. The kids grew up. Some of us moved away. But these memories remain a part of the fabric of our family.
Yesterday, on our way home from our first July 4th celebration in Ohio, I heard what had happened in one of those other Illinois communities, hosting their Independence Day parade. A young gunman sat atop a downtown building and used a powerful weapon of war to shoot and kill at least six parade attendees and injure more than two dozen more.
Please re-read that last sentence. I can hardly believe it. What have we come to?
This isn’t just about Illinois or the 4th of July. In days, it seems, we have moved from Buffalo, New York, to Uvalde, Texas, to Highland Park, Illinois. How did a mass killing we once would have thought of as a frightening aberration become a weekly occurrence?
If you have followed this blog at all, you know it isn’t political (Okay, sometimes personal bias does seep in.). It’s books and cooking, decorating and some travel. But the reality is too heartbreaking to ignore. Thoughts and prayers are not enough. We must also admit that recent legislation, though well-intentioned, would not have stopped this shooter. (Another heartbreak — finally one step forward and now back again.) How does this country separate our fundamental belief in a militia from this love affair with weapons of war?
What will become of us if we don’t?
I have no answers, but I believe it’s time to put my money where my mouth is (my vote is already there) and now I’m lending my modest financial support to Everytown for Gun Safety. You might want to check them out. And thanks to Julie at Creating This
Life for suggesting it.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. And thanks for listening.
Ivy & Ironstone 
Excellent!
LikeLike
Good on you for speaking out on this issue! Until there is a ground swell of public opinion on the need to ban assault weapons, the ‘connected’ lobbyists and politicians will continue with their weak excuses and poor logic. We the people, ordinary people, are the victims of these mass shootings. We must begin to loudly make our disgust known. Enough is Enough. I have heard many positive things about ‘Everytown’ organization and intend to donate.
LikeLike
Thank you! We are on the same page. And I agree that Everytown is a good place too start.
LikeLike
Thank you! I just could not let the moment pass.
LikeLike
Very well said! 400,000,000 million guns owned in this country; 20,000,000 of these guns are of the type meant to be used on a battlefield in war – not for recreation, or in the hands of the average sociopath with a grudge. There is no reason to let this continue in this country – except to accommodate a group of politicians who love power more than this country. Vote them out!
LikeLike