Thank you for reading my blog this week. I found myself struggling about what to “blog” about, and I did settle on a fun topic. After what occurred in Uvalde, Texas, I decided to write this blog and dedicate it to them and all Americans. You are in our thoughts and prayers.
When a sad incident happens, such as the one in Uvalde, Texas, I think about all the craziness that occurred in the early days of our country. There were Indian attacks on settlements and wagon trains plus a Civil War occurred. Whole towns were wiped out. Plain sad for both sides of the spectrum.
Many of us say that the world and its people have never been so crazy. I don’t know if this is the correct word, but I believe all of you reading will agree the word crazy works.
If we look back in the Bible and history, things were just as “crazy”. The only difference between then and now is we have more ways to communicate and publicize the happenings. Years ago, there were no Facebook, Twitter, Internet, or TV. These days when an event of any kind occurs, it becomes instant news — you are there.
I asked my mother one time why no one did anything about Hitler’s Holocaust. Didn’t anyone know what was happening in Europe? She replied that there were no CNN or Fox News teams on the ground to instantly report events. She listened to the radio, went to the movies and saw the Newsreels, read Life Magazine or newspapers to get the news. (For those of you that don’t know what Life Magazine was, google it.)
It would take time to find out what was occurring halfway around the world. For five years World War II raged on with the limits of communications. Families and soldiers wrote letters, but dialog could be censored due to sharing of location of the soldiers and/or battles.
If we look back even further to our Wild West, there may have been telegraphs (if the wires weren’t cut by the bandits), the Pony Express, stagecoaches, or people to deliver news. I wonder how many events occurred that we never even knew about.
The sad massacre at Uvalde, was reported as soon as the news people got to the scene. We saw newscasters becoming choked up. I believe it was empathy coming through to the people experiencing this tragedy. I think you need to be a tough person to report an incident such as this one. Do they ever get used to it? We watched the governor and his people give a press conference. They hurt for this border town’s people and their state.
It was communicated that mental health counseling would be available for all those involved. In the days and weeks to come, this form of treatment can help those experiencing trauma and grief.
I believe that grief never leaves a person, but you can find a way to manage it as the days and years pass. There is no instantaneous fix. Somehow you reach down inside of yourself and begin to remember more positives that negatives. And… so goes life.
Gun control has been a topic of discussion for a very long time. We could debate it all day. Prohibition brought about organized crime and bootleggers. They would sell alcohol “under the table”. I believe you can have all the rules and laws in the world; but if someone wants something illegal, they will find a way to procure it. So what is the answer? Perhaps we should just learn to love each other more, and teach our children well.
As I used to tell my kids at school when they would have conflicts with each other, “You don’t have to like your fellow man, but you do need to love them”.
With the above thought I leave you on this Memorial Day Weekend. Remember to tell your friends and family you love them.
Blessings from The Blogging Grandma