The blog post I planned for today must wait until next week.  Safe at home away from Hurricane Irma in St. Maarten, that continuing story must take a back seat to the tragedy still unfolding in Las Vegas.  I have been unable to focus on anything else today, glued to the TV, wondering how we continue to have so many man-made tragedies.  Mike and I are both so saddened by this tragic situation.

Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, and the earthquake that destroyed much of Mexico City are certainly tragedies, and need to continue to garner our attention and action.  But as devastating as they are, we have no control over them. Some may differ with this statement, bringing up global warming, but just for this moment, let’s put that argument aside, and accept that hurricanes and earthquakes are in a different category from mass killings.  As a society, we should be able to control, in fact, avoid, the senseless killings of innocent people.  When will it stop?

As in times of other crises, I have more questions than answers.   For me, this is not a political issue, but a social one.  Yes, social issues and politics are connected, but they are not one and the same.  This is not about gun control or the NRA to me, it is about a society that lets these positions divide us, while innocent people continue to be murdered.

It is also about us at the individual level.  Some turn their heads to aberrant behavior of neighbors, loved ones, and others, not wanting to deal with the conflict of confronting the behavior.  While we do not have any details yet about the motive(s)of the Las Vegas shooter, some people have had information about other shooters that they did not act upon.  It is so much easier to not get involved; until it isn’t.

What is it going to take for us individually and collectively to say, “enough is enough?”  When will we come together as a people, irrespective of politics and party, and focus on the greater good for us all?

What will it take?