The 18th school shooting in the US within 2 months. . .

Why is this happening so much in The United States? Do we have a higher incidence of mental illness, is it because of our obsession with guns, or is it something else?

I wonder if there is some dramatic step that could be taken. Can we manage to check the body of every person that comes through the door of every school? The frequency of shootings in my Country, the USA, has changed the way that I look at firearms.

The shootings i have witnessed have definitely changed the way I feel about firearms. The sound of a gun brings back thoughts of how a tool can be used to leverage violence and agony. There is a huge responsibility to owning such powerful tools, and I fear that it that has been traded for an arrogance and lack of recognition for what can be done with a gun. Macho men tote big boom sticks in movies and a lot of people think that they need to carry a gun on their hip because they think they might be the next hero that saves the innocent from a bad guy.

The sad truth is that the a gun rarely ever stops the violence, and Cruz was taken in yesterday without a single gunshot wound in his flesh. . . . And often times, the gun that was meant to protect, is the gun that takes a life from ill-use or negligence of the owner. I am not interested in carrying a weapon, and really i wish that weapons never were useful. i know that the booms of cannons, missiles and gunfire have clear the air for forward motion of those who light the powder, pull the trigger or press the button that lets the ammunition fly, from bb's to the biggest bombs. But it looks more and more like weapons do more killing than anyone every wanted them to, and so often it is not an accident.

I don't' know what to feel but pain and regret that this is the world we live in, and now news has come out the Cruz was part of White Nationalist Group in Florida , further confirming the danger to freedom and peace that such groups foster. These are nothing short of domestic terrorists, and I don't even want to go on a tear about that.

All I want is for us to consider peace, spread it, put down your weapons once in a while, let your guard down, and barrage your neighbor with love. That won't fix it right away, but i like to know that there is a little more care being given in the world. Be patient with the wayward, and when you do choose to take up arms of any kind, may it be against the enemies of peace and unity.

Love from the shaking ground,
tommyinthesun