In Orlando, Newtown, Chicago, (insert your current location here), and across the globe, violence, hate, anger, hostility, and criminal behavior run rampant.
When a group or a lone person decides to hurt you or people you love, it's easy to lash out in disgust and outright anger. It's also easy to detach ourselves and believe that violence and all of these awful things are something that happens in other places.
We must face reality: we live in a splintered and shattered society. We live in a world where it's possible to live, shop, or work beside a terrorist and have no clue. We also live in a world filled with hate and prejudice. We must not let these prejudices consume us. A terrorist can be anyone. Anyone. Of any background.
Even if we put every control possible into place, terrorism is an evil that cannot be contained. There will always be another group surfacing or a lone wolf who is just waiting for an opportunity. So what can we do? Always abide by the "if you see something, say something" mentality, for one. Your action could be the one thing that changed everything.
Try as we might, we ultimately cannot control what happens in the future. We need to accept that. We can all get alarms and guns and never let our children outside. We can choose to live in fear of our neighbors and stereotype people who could become our greatest friends. We can live inside our seemingly impenetrable bubble of fear.
But what does that serve? You are going to have to step outside of your bubble one day. Or there will be something that happens that pops the bubble of fear beyond repair.
The terrorist from the nightclub lived in my hometown. He went to high school with some of my friends. He lived less than ten houses from where my husband used to live. We went to the same community college. I did not know him. But he could have easily been sitting in a classroom, or shopping at a local grocery store beside me.
In this same city, a gun show went on last weekend at local civic center. The local news was there to report and the parking lot was insane. A church that usually occupies the civic center space was kicked outside. Imagine being in an outdoor church service in the blazing Florida sunshine and seeing people walking by constantly on their way in and out of a gun show, taking the place you usually use for worship to by weapons. Surreal.
My city kicks out the faithful in favor of gun sales. I'm not against guns or self protection. It is simply ironic that in a city where the terrorist grew up and lived, there is a greater demand for guns than there is for faith.
Defending your home and your family is your right and is not to be taken lightly. However, it is often said that there are no atheists on the battlefield. When weapons fail to protect us, and we are defenseless and all hope is lost, we must lean on God.
Guns make us feel more protected. We can protect ourselves and our families. And in many cases, guns are beneficial. However, we are not in control. According to policeone.com, in America it is estimated that less than 12 percent of police officers will ever draw and fire their weapons at another person in the entire course of their career. Statistically, we are much, much more likely to die of disease than we are at the hands of a terrorist.
When our loved ones and families get diseases and pass away, the only one we have left turn to is God.
The most powerful thing, above all else, is Love. We must love one another instead of living lives filled with hatred and fear. We must learn to respect, learn from, and appreciate our differences.
We are fearfully and wonderfully made. Worry solves nothing. Get out there, love hard, live fully, and appreciate every day that you have been granted! Don't spend your life in a bubble! You will miss the chance to fully live the life you've worked so hard to protect
