A long time ago I read an interview with a man who'd been put in charge of rebuilding a city destroyed by war. The challenges he faced were daunting – he needed to rebuild schools, figure out how to provide health care, rebuild the electrical grid, reestablish access to fresh water, help small businesses rise from the ashes, fight crime, the list went on and on. A reporter asked him how he managed not to sink into despair in the face of so many challenges. His response was something that has stuck with me ever since: "Despair is a luxury I don't have time for."
My first reaction to the news from Uvalde, Texas, was certainly one of despair. How can this be happening? How can this be happening again? Why do we pretend not to notice that our country is a spectacular outlier compared to all other developed nations in this one respect, and pretend not to know why?
But despair is a luxury we don't have time for.
I asked some friends who know more about this than I do to suggest a few things we can do right now. Please consider picking just one and doing it. Because it will make you feel a little bit better, in this moment of horror… and because despair is a luxury we don't have time for.
- Call Ohio Senator Rob Portman (R-Terrace Park) today, tomorrow and every day thereafter, and tell the staffer who answers the phone that you as his constituent want him to support background checks for gun purchases. That’s all you have to say. Portman is retiring this year and doesn’t need NRA money anymore for re-election. He might want to be remembered as the man who helped save our kids. (Call his office, daily if you can, at 202-224-3353.)
- Practice saying, "We are the only developed nation where this happens regularly." When people say, "But mental illness! But criminals! But violent video games! But, but, but,” gently point out that people all over the world have mental illness, there are criminals around the globe, and people all over the world play violent video games. Yet: "We are the only developed nation where this happens regularly."
- If you own a gun, avoid the nightmare of having your gun used in a mass shooting, accidental shooting, or family member's suicide by locking it up. (More info and tips at https://besmartforkids.org.)
- Fight gerrymandering with your dollars (and your vote). Gerrymandering is at the root of our gun violence problem. Ninety percent of Americans support background checks, but legislators in gerrymandered districts have to spout extremist views (even when they don't believe them) to avoid getting ousted in the primaries by extremist candidates. The League of Women Voters is helping to lead the charge on this issue in Ohio. Donate at: https://www.lwvohio.org.
- Donate to Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. This is like Mothers Against Drunk Driving, but for gun violence prevention. These are smart, good people who are doing great work. (Sign up to get their text or email updates, too at https://momsdemandaction.org.)
- Tell your friends outside Ohio to Google who is running for Senate in their state, click on the candidate’s website, click on "Issues," and see if the candidate’s views on gun reform seem sane. If they do, ask them to send a donation. The House already passed the gun background check law. All we need now is enough sane senators in office for the Senate to do the same.
It is easy to get overwhelmed by the horror of this moment, but despair is a luxury we don’t have time for. Please, for your kids, your grandkids, for those sweet fourth-graders of Uvalde and the parents who must bury them, pick just one thing from this list and do it today.
Karen Weese lives in Montgomery.
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