Day 20: Time Passes, But What Changes?

I was in the middle of writing about something completely different for today's blog when it dawned on me: Today is the one year anniversary of the horrific movie theater shootings in Aurora, Colorado.

My first reaction was disbelief; There's no way that it's been a year already. It seems like so many bad things have happened in the last year, tragedies layered upon tragedies. The US suffered Sandy Hook, The Boston Massacre, Trayvon Martin, and numerous other life-changing events that were either overdone or completely ignored by the media. Around the world there were uprisings in Syria, Egypt, and Libya, genocide, suffering, car bombs, and no real end to the wars that two Presidents have now claimed are long over. Some days it feels like a huge, cold shadow has been cast over the whole world.

A year ago, I wrote about the Aurora shootings as a shell-shocked mom who couldn't believe that something so unspeakable could happen in such an ordinary, innocuous place. I was convinced that this tragedy would serve as a wake-up call for us to step back and look at our violent tendencies, inconsistent gun laws, and mental illness stigmas. I had faith that humanity would persevere. While I couldn't justify the deaths of innocent people, I believed in silver linings. I thought that everything happened for a reason and believed in the power of people to band together to make something positive come out of something so unspeakable.

But as time marches on, I'm less sure of my convictions. Twelve months have passed, and yet othing has really changed. Instead of banding together against the craziness in the world, everyone just writes angry tweets (myself included) and we grow further and further divided on every issue. Events like Aurora are becoming the norm rather than the exception. Violence is everywhere and our eyes and hearts are becoming indifferent to it all. Personally, my wells of hope and positivity are waning. My silver linings have become tarnished and grey.

Today, I don't care if you're Republican or Democrat. I don't care if you're pro-life or pro-choice, for or against gay marriage, or a Lady Gaga fan. All I ask is that when we're all fighting with each other from behind the safety of our computer screens about issues that we really don't know a thing about, we remember the people we have lost. Honor them in any way you can. Honor them by being nice to a stranger or by not making a nasty comment on a gun control article on Facebook. It's a small step, but the world isn't going to clean itself up. That much is obvious.