If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
In just half a year, the people of Newtown have already shown a propensity to rebuild and recover. Among the first signs of their fortitude was the decision last month on what to do with Sandy Hook Elementary School.
As of this week, the half-year anniversary of the Newtown shootings, the Bloomberg-funded organization, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, is also taking the message to the voters, nationwide.
A timeless, nameless wasteland somewhere in Washington, DC. Two House Republicans are sitting dejectedly on a bench.
VLADIMIR: What do you want to do?
ESTRAGON: I want to repeal Obamacare.
As a college student who is constantly meeting new people, the question is asked quite frequently, "Where are you from?" My first instinct is to blurt it out: "Newtown, Connecticut."
It is never too early, they are never too young, to learn that they can make a difference. They count. They matter. Their actions affect others. And most importantly, that they are a world and they can save a world.
Not often do I have the chance to meet with royals who care deeply about orphans. Unable to get out of meetings in Manhattan, I did the next best thi...
So why does this myth that autistic people lack empathy persist? The reasons are complicated -- a convergence of media, popular culture, and ignorance.
Whatever we imagine is going on without us, can go on without us. In fact, all things either continue, or will wait for us. There is never an extra moment with our children.
We have to be more sensitive to such wake-up calls, before our communities turn into a complete "collection of strangers."
A few months ago, not long after the tragedy in Newtown, Conn., I was at work when my phone rang. It was an automated message from the school that my two older sons attend. I was informed that there had been a shooting at another school a few blocks away.
We all give ourselves labels: liberal, conservative, gun owner, gun reformer, but none of those are instinctive. They are not in our DNA. Perhaps maternal instincts are the key to solving the horrific problem of gun violence.
On this Mother's Day, it is hard not to feel inspired and hopeful by the robust and sophisticated grassroots movement building of moms across America who have organized to fight for safer gun law legislation.
As "Sandy Hook Moms," we often hear the phrase "I can't imagine what you are going through." Well, please imagine it. Imagine what it's like to lose a son or daughter to gun violence and encourage your elected officials to do the same.
Some might ask, why not just stop? You gave a good fight, but why not just return to your old lives and leave this gun business alone? The reality is we don't have a choice.
To my daughters, a bad day simply means "time out" and a meal without dessert. Bad guys look like Darth Vader and the Joker and they don't know about Adam Lanza or Timothy McVeigh. I fear those conversations are coming one day soon.
The media should be ashamed of itself for not taking issue with Congress or the gun lobby and taking them to task. I wish it had conducted equally ceaseless coverage of Sandy Hook to keep the issue alive in the news, but it appears the media doesn't put equally intrinsic value on those twenty innocent children's lives.
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