Mass school shootings are too normalized

My sister called me while I was downstairs picking up packages. I called her back as soon as I retuned to my apartment, dropping the packages on my couch. "Guess why I am calling you." she said as soon as I answered. "Another school shooting."

My heart sank in my chest. The same way it sank earlier this year when I heard of other school shootings, one of them, Parkland High School, happened on my birthday.

When I went to the news to look for more details, I couldn't find any. Nothing on any of my local stations. Soap operas and court shows. You would think a school shooting, where children are actively being massacred would be news. So, like any millennial, I went to Twitter. After some scrolling, I finally found something.

The Sante Fe High School shooting is the third school shooting in the past seven days, and the 22nd since the beginning of the year in the United States. https://t.co/QiNdfatRU6

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) May 18, 2018

Why did I have to scroll so long? Why isn't this a big deal? Were is the news?

Is this still news? This being the 22nd school shooting in our nation in only 5 months, I guess, doesn't make the cut (you know, like the royal wedding or some drama with reality stars.)

If 'only' one life is lost in these shootings, it's one life too many. Someone's baby went to school this morning and will not be coming home. And that thought alone is too much.

Not too long ago, I wrote a piece on being a Christian and how callous the term "thoughts and prayers" is following these nightmarish events, that it would almost be better to not say anything at all. Because of the inaction of those we have elevated to places of leadership, I have had to recycle that piece over and over.

We know this cycle. We know the NRA or some trash politician will come and make some faux-sad  address denouncing the slaughter and they will finish by telling us now is not the time to talk about gun reform. (Meanwhile, they have so much blood staining their hands, not even if they used every dollar they were profiting off of to keep gun reform laws at bay to wipe their hands, it would not be enough.)

This is America. Where we care more for the antiquated amendment written when guns could only hold one pellet and there was actual threat of invasion than for the lives of our people. For the lives of our children. Our future is literally being destroyed before our eyes, and all we can say is "now is not the time"?

But now IS the time, whether its street violence or mass school shootings in the suburbs, now is the time we not only talked about it, but we actually did something about it.

And those thoughts and prayers should lead to action. I believe in thoughts and prayers, wholeheartedly. But tossing the statement at any tragedy without a corresponding action to back it up is actually thoughtless. Authentic thinking, the act of cerebrally processing information, and sincere praying, the act of speaking to God about what is happening and what to do about it, lead to action.

It's time for some action, y'all.