Normal: Do we really want it?

As the country starts to look past the pandemic and return to normal, we should ask ourselves, do we want to return to normal? America needs to do some real soul searching on what we want normal to look like. States have started opening for business. People are traveling again. Florida saw a large Spring break crowds. These all seem good, but there is more.

Unfortunately, part of normal seems to be mass shootings. Along with these events we have the normal media frenzy where it consumes the media outlets and the nightly news, but only for a few days. We have the left’s normal response of calling for gun law reform and not much else. Lastly, we have the NRA, the GOP, and other gun support groups doing their normal gun rights social media spin that guns are not the problem. Of course, the ubiquitous and useless sending of thoughts and prayers. Normal needs to change.

The Boulder Colorado shooting that killed ten people occurred on March 22, 2021, less than two weeks ago. Now, it is but a foot note in history and has practically vanished from the news. It appears to have also vanished from social media. Is this the normal we want?

It is time to rethink how we approach this problem. The left uses the same myopic arguments, more laws and not much more. While that could be part of the solution it seems to feed the gun lobby’s fear. It also fails to look into the problem and identify the why or the underlying root cause for such events.

The gun lobby, which consist of the NRA and the GOP and few others. They have convinced America to accept that the random killing of ten to twenty people a month to be worth the cost. They believe that we are losing something if we do not allow it. In the process they have turned America into the “Hunger Games”. Do we really want an America where it’s normal when you leave for the spa, grocery store, or school that you wish your loved ones “may the odds be in your favor”?

Does America really want to let the NRA and the GOP define this as what normal America means? A place where life is expendable. A place that fears the future and sees monsters and demons behind every opportunity or change. A place that fears social reform and justice. These people fear the future. They continue to push a post-apocalyptic view of where society is headed, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. A society that is in disarray where the guns are needed for survival. A society complete with gangs, terrorist, and aliens running rampant destroying the fabric of society. This is how they see America and they are the savior.

We should not let these people define what normal America is. We need to recapture our vision of a justice society. A place where equality and truth are valued. We need to see the challenges we face as an opportunity to come together and not points to take a stand against our fellow Americans. Things must change to improve life for all people. This would be a better normal.