If you go into a Google search and type in “how many,” one of the first things to pop up in the results bar is “how many mass shootings in 2018.” You’d think the answer would make me sick to my stomach. The ironic thing is, however, is that there is no answer. The answer is an ongoing count of the tragedies America faces. The world often wakes up to the news that, yet again, America has experienced a mass shooting. Another day, another shooting. We cannot live like this.
February 14, 2018—America’s 29th mass shooting in 2018. People everywhere were left in a state of shock as we were informed that 17 teenagers were slaughtered on a school campus due to a gun.
October 27, 2018—America’s 296th mass shooting of 2018. A gunman entered a synagogue in an antisemitic attack, killing 11.
November 8, 2018—America’s 307th mass shooting of 2018. The state of California and the USA were welcomed into the morning with a news headline that 13 people had been killed in a shooting at a bar. 13 families woke up to the news that their loved ones had been massacred by a murder weapon.
In 2018 alone, there have been over 300 mass shootings. Somebody has rampaged a public place and shot bullets and innocent people 300 times, and every single time we have sat and watched and not done anything.
On November 8, America reached its 307th mass shooting in 312 days. That’s practically a shooting for each day of the year. We cannot live like this.
When the Parkland shooting happened, I overheard someone saying that because this shooting had gained so much attention, some action was bound to be taken. I would like to think so, but then I’m reminded that this action of shooting is not a concept new to America, nor to the world.
April 20, 1999, a shooter took Columbine High School, stealing the lives of many innocent teenagers.
December 14, 2012, a man rampaged a school, killing 20 children between the ages of 6 and 7.
And why are we in this dire state? Because nobody did anything. Nobody changed the law. The “right to bear arms” was made when everybody went around with muskets, not guns that could kill hundreds of people within minutes. Nobody stood up. Nobody pleaded for gun control. And here we are again, experiencing the same heartache and pain that we experienced almost 2 decades ago. We cannot live like this.
As high school students in the United States of America, we are in the position to make a change. When we can, we must stand up, voice our opinions, and try our hardest to make a change. We cannot live like this.
Picture Credits: Jonathan Schmock
