(Another) Morning in America

It's morning in America -- the morning after yet another horrific mass shooting at a school. It came, of course, before the families of the victims of the last horrific mass shooting could even lay their loved ones to rest. I won't pretend to have something great to say here, either profound or pithy. But I'd rather post a few thoughts on the matter, however scattered, than just go "business as usual" with another movie review or whatever today.

Last night, I attended a graduation ceremony for my niece, who is finishing 8th grade and starting high school next year. That ceremony was held at the high school where nearly all of her class will be moving onto. And that high school is Columbine.

Columbine High School was not the first mass school shooting in the U.S., though it is arguably the beginning of the epidemic as we live with it today. And we do just seem to live with it; there was at no point in over 90 minutes of ceremony any acknowledgement of where we were, or of the day on which we were there. Sure, everyone was there for a celebration, and part of me does understand not wanting to overshadow that. Maybe even most of me.

Yet also, that we all just want to soldier on and pretend nothing is so deeply and profoundly wrong? That we all just know that no one should say anything about gathering at "the birthplace of mass school shootings" on the very day of a mass school shooting? That feels like part of why nothing has changed in 23 years later.

But of course, the real reason nothing has changed in decades is that the U.S. Senate will not even take up a vote on simple measures that have not only majority support in our country, but near unanimous support. The Second Amendment is not a suicide pact, and most Americans want to see more extensive background checks, trigger locks, training requirements, age limitations, and more. Because of the filibuster, and because a significant number of senators receive contributions from the NRA and gun lobbyists, we can't even get the vote.

You don't even have to be a "single issue voter" at this point. If you care about meaningful, sensible gun control... or the retrograde restriction of women's rights... or continuing access to contraception... or equality in marriage... and so on, and so on... all those issues align one way. Stop voting Republicans into office.