Something has to change....

I think I have mentioned before that I take a weekly German class. The class is EXTREMELY international. This Semester, it includes people from Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, Portugal, China, Vietnam, Bulgaria, Poland, and the list goes on. I absolutely love the diversity. Today we had an informal class with a small Weihnachten (Christmas) Party, and we just sat around and talked (in German of course) about our own Christmas traditions and the world etc. At the very end of the class, one of the girls from China brought up the horrible American school shooting that occurred last week. It is absolutely saddening to see something like this on television from so far away and feel absolutely helpless. The New England school connection really hit home, as well did the fact that I have 3 innocent children whom I adore more than life itself.  It was also sad for me to see this very international group that I was with, wondering what the heck could be going on in my country, where this kind of thing can happen again and again. I hadn't ever really thought of it this way, but this comment was presented by one of the other students: "During 9/11, 3 thousand people were killed by terrorists, yet every year in the U.S. over 12000 people are killed by guns (that doesn't even include the people that are injured by guns). It seems you are your own worst enemy." When you think of it, it is kind of sad that we are so passionate about things when an outsider comes in to harm us, but yet when we hurt ourselves, life just goes on. As I write this, I certainly do not know what the answer is, but something has to change. You obviously can't get all of the guns off of the streets, but what about requiring a rigid course in order to have a firearm, and home gun safe checks to be sure they are being stored appropriately, what about more help and shelter for the mentally disabled, what about "real life education" in schools where morals are taught and life skills? It really saddens me. Something has to change.