Guns are not the problem…

… but neither are they the solution.

What happened today in Connecticut is a tragedy. It is outrageous to believe that someone would go into an elementary school, of all places, and go through with massacring 27 people including 20 children.

While I agree with gun enthusiasts in saying that the gun was not the problem, I also agree with gun control advocates who argue that if guns were more restricted this would not have happened.

Either way, we cannot change it now. We can only look toward the future and decide what form of action we are going to take.

I think that the Obama administration’s comment about not being the time to discuss things is cowardly. If a bus had crashed and 20 school children were left dead we would want to know why. We would want to solve the problem, whatever that solution might be.

However, with how polarizing the second amendment debate is, no politician would touch that subject with a thirty-nine and a half foot pole (yes, that’s a Grinch reference, Merry Christmas).

This is where the American public, “We the people,” must voice our displeasure. Whether the preventative measure is to be taken against attitudes that cause people to go on such rampages or against the objects they use to release their emotions I am all for it; because I will not be satisfied with the preventable deaths of 27 people.

If Jesus was dissatisfied with the chopping off of one enemy’s ear, how much more outraged should I be at 27 lives being taken!

Guns are not the problem, but they certainly are not the solution.

Firearms are an offensive weapon meant for attacking. There is nothing defensive about them. A gun cannot shield you or repel an enemy’s advance. Any shadow of defense they possess is in their use for intimidation of injuring and killing an attacker. They have no power for healing or protecting in and of themselves.

Until we can further diagnose the internal problems that cause humans to use firearms in ways that they were used in Newtown, Connecticut at Sandy Hook Elementary School today; I will be in support of more strict gun regulations.

My reasoning is something I try and communicate to my seventh graders all the time; that is, “We are in control of only our own actions. We cannot control someone else’s actions.”

Because I cannot control what other people will do with firearms, I will sacrifice my right to posses one in order to prevent further tragedies like this one.

If you disagree with me and would stand idly by while 27 people are brutally murdered by a man wielding two handguns today, then you must be willing to live with your choice for personal freedom over the lives of others.

The Bible talks of swords being beaten into plowshares. I dream of a day in which guns, bombs, and other weapons will be beaten into ships that will bring food to the hungry and drills that will unleash water for the thirsty. Our knives will become scalpels to repair the broken, axes and saw blades to harvest wood to build homes for the homeless, and syringes to cure the sick.

Guns are not necessary for our survival. When did our privilege to own one become more important than someone else’s inalienable right to life?

The Value in Being Concise

Remember how hard it was to fill an entire notebook page when you had that report about a President in grade school? Or the speech in high school that had to last 3 minutes! 

“What topic in academia could possibly be so interesting that I need to talk for three minutes!?” I asked my teacher Ms. Powers.

Now, in life and teaching, I can’t seem to shut up. There isn’t enough time to say (or blog) all I want to tell you!

It’s a real struggle for a teacher; because, given enough time I could explain all of the U.S. History these kids need to know. EVEN if they just arrived from Mexico last summer and speak only a little English. The problem is I only get 50 minutes per day, five days a week, and 180 days per year (many of which are consumed by testing, but I won’t get into that here).

I need to be concise!

Concise (adj.) – giving a lot of information clearly and in a few words; brief but comprehensive

I was reading blogs for a while before I started one of my own, and nothing aggravated me more than a catchy title that lured me in to reading a post the length of a book chapter (if that is you, know that if I wanted to read a book chapter I would pick up one of the 36 books I own and want to read!). But seriously, it is one reason that I have made a commitment to myself to keep my posts around 500 words.

Twitter is great because no matter what limit I put on myself, I’m only allowed 140 characters. I feel like Solomon writing Proverbs when I think of a good one!

And in teaching, obviously being concise is of utmost importance as I explained above.

However, the REAL value in being concise is not for the receiver, but for the communicator. The REAL reason I limit myself here is to challenge myself to pack a lot of punch in as few words as possible.

Albert Einstein once said, “If you can’t explain it to a six-year old, you don’t understand it yourself.” Those words are a challenge to all of humanity to learn and to grow in understanding before we go spouting our mouths off.

If we cannot be concise (clear, comprehensive, and brief) while explaining a topic, then we need to go back and learn it again ourselves.

#MLK Day… obligation or necessity?

I’m a history teacher by profession (well, by degree and hopefully soon enough by profession). One of the greatest times in United States history is the Civil Rights movement of the ’60s. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of, if not THE, greatest leader and icon of the time period. This makes him VERY important to my profession.

I am also a human being and one that would describe myself as Christian. This should give me an even greater interest, admiration, and inspiration for and from King’s spirit of love and sacrifice. As many prophets before him we would be safe emulating his actions and putting his words into practice.

Once a year citizens of the United States are hearkened to remember the man who’s name is given every third Monday of the month of January. If you are familiar with the history behind getting the entire nation to celebrate the holiday (wikipedia will help give some background) then you know President Reagan begrudgingly signed the holiday into law, a seemingly obligatory act given it was approved by congress by enough votes to overturn a veto should the President resort to it.

That history, combined with the massive amount of facebook statii, tweets, and blogposts concerning the day from people that don’t NORMALLY do such things makes me wonder if we are simply fulfilling our obligation to observe a day that should be wildly celebrated.

Self-confession time, I have always admired Dr. King from afar; as you would a beautiful girl (or guy) completely out of your league across the classroom, office, or coffee shop. I’ve known enough about him to be interested, to admire him, and to be (on occasion) inspired by him. However, like that girl across the coffee shop I have never had the courage to really get to know him. To read his books and essays, to listen to his sermons, or to take something he said and truly live by it.

I’m ashamed really because it all stems from the fact that I fall into the demographic least discriminated against, white middle-class male. To me – and others like me – Martin Luther King Jr. day is an obligation I hold in honor of my brothers and sisters to whom celebration of his triumphs is a necessity. However, this obligation to me has become my necessity. A necessary reminder that I shouldn’t “observe” a holiday for the sake of someone else, but should CELEBRATE alongside them by learning why it is important to them.

And so with this post I admit my ignorance and selfishness, apologize for it, and offer to rectify it by educating myself. By praying that my heart turned from selfish ambition to a spirit of thinking of others, by reading some of Dr. King’s essays, and by finding individuals with greater knowledge than me on Civil Rights and African-American rights and asking questions.

May 2012 bring personal and communal growth to us all!