Orchard House, Concord, MA
I really want to write about the field trip my granddaughter and I took today to Orchard House, the home of Louisa May Alcott and her ‘little women’. However, gun control, or rather the lack thereof, is on my mind. You know who I’m thinking about—all those innocent people killed in the Colorado movie theater and all their families and friends. But that’s not all. There’s all of us, citizens of the USA and of the world who hold some the responsibility as well as some of the hope. (I can’t believe that politicians are remaining mute or are only murmuring, so no one will hear them, that our gun laws are adequate.)
What’s a Christian to do? Or a Jew or Muslim, or a Buddhist, or just a good person? We’re all the same in this. The Ten Commandments tell us not murder, and most of us are able to follow that one. And I think we’d find general agreement that no one should stand up in a movie theater and fire away. But in not speaking up, are we allowing others to kill?
What’s a Christian to do? What am I to do? I have some suggestions for God in spite of the fact that praying for specifics is tricky business (not that it stops me). Praying for peace seems like a safe bet, and although recognizing peace isn’t always easy, I think I know it when I see it.
So, at the moment I’m praying that everyday people like myself can’t get a hold of a gun, and I’m praying that our elected officials will speak out against the easy access to guns in this country. I’m calling God’s attention to the issue. “Look God, see what’s happening.”
I would love to hear the conversation around the Alcott dining room table about gun control and the right to bear arms. Bronson Alcott wouldn’t shy away from the issue, but we can be pretty sure that he wouldn’t accept the reckless access and use that we have today.
What’s a Christian to do? Or a Jew or Muslim, or a Buddhist, or just a good person? We’re all the same in this. The Ten Commandments tell us not murder, and most of us are able to follow that one. And I think we’d find general agreement that no one should stand up in a movie theater and fire away. But in not speaking up, are we allowing others to kill?
What’s a Christian to do? What am I to do? I have some suggestions for God in spite of the fact that praying for specifics is tricky business (not that it stops me). Praying for peace seems like a safe bet, and although recognizing peace isn’t always easy, I think I know it when I see it.
So, at the moment I’m praying that everyday people like myself can’t get a hold of a gun, and I’m praying that our elected officials will speak out against the easy access to guns in this country. I’m calling God’s attention to the issue. “Look God, see what’s happening.”
I would love to hear the conversation around the Alcott dining room table about gun control and the right to bear arms. Bronson Alcott wouldn’t shy away from the issue, but we can be pretty sure that he wouldn’t accept the reckless access and use that we have today.
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