tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653414895077719945.post237143135868451110..comments2023-09-23T00:56:14.643-07:00Comments on EcoPreacher: Do Not Sacrifice Our Children on the Altar of the GunAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01760478839598027696noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653414895077719945.post-58534809135369903542012-12-15T07:58:50.531-08:002012-12-15T07:58:50.531-08:00Amen! Thank you for your thoughtful response, Barb...Amen! Thank you for your thoughtful response, Barb. You have correctly identified the underlying issue of gun violence (and the "slow violence" of ecological devastation) as a deeply spiritual lacuna in our lives, individually and collectively. The Evil One fools us into thinking those empty places can be filled with the power that comes from guns (or fracking drills, or any man-made tool that promises power and life when the actual cost is suffering and death). <br /><br />Your words bring a needed perspective and move the dialogue further.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01760478839598027696noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653414895077719945.post-72549700292161874222012-12-15T07:17:23.461-08:002012-12-15T07:17:23.461-08:00Thank you, Rev. Leah for this thoughtful and thoug...Thank you, Rev. Leah for this thoughtful and thought provoking text. Each day in America, 30 people are killed by guns. That's the equivalent of 1 jumbo jet crash every single week. I have never owned a gun, or held one with the intent to kill anything. <br /><br />I have only witnessed death by gunshot once in my life, as I watched my father shoot a copperhead snake in our driveway with a 22 rifle. Even the death of a snake that terrified me had a profound effect. <br /><br />There is a sick and evil kind of power that comes over some people when they have a gun in their hands. I agree with your position that the gun has achieved god status, but we must ask why. I believe it is because so many people feel helpless and disconnected. It is so easy to feel utterly powerlessness in the face of such pervasive greed and corruption in high places. We have lost the bonds of community and compassion and love that unite us. So many have lost their voice and sense of place in the world. In fear, they pick up a weapon that they believe will give them the significance and meaning they long for. Their anger is an outward expression of a deep seated inner fear of their utter separation and aloneness. <br /><br />Should we pass laws to make guns more difficult to obtain? Absolutely. Will laws that deny the gun worshipers access to their gods change their hearts? No. The deeper change we need in the gun arena is no different from what is needed in the fracking world. We all need a sense of place, a voice, and evidence that our lives have meaning and purpose. Gun violence is, in my belief, evidence of the tragic lack of community, compassion, and love in our culture. <br /><br />May we continue, in our activism, to strive to restore that with the human heart longs for most. Namaste, my friend. Barb Jarmoskahttp://www.road-2-health.comnoreply@blogger.com