Once upon a time there was a country that was born in liberty and came to be a beacon to the world of freedom and democracy. In our 242-year history, the United States has tried to represent the best values of freedom and justice. We have overcome slavery. We have promoted tolerance and opportunity for the striving peoples from around the world. We fought in foreign lands to oppose dictators and terrorists, and we were proud. Now we are the leaders of something else for which we cannot be proud. We lead the world in mass shootings in our schools, our workplaces, and the public square.
No, these shooters are not terrorists intent on attacking our way of life, although that threat exists; these are people with guns intent on killing. They have numerous motives and various mental conditions, but they all have one common denominator; guns. Now we can say that the United States is the only country in the world where these mass shootings are happening with this frequency and ferocity. How can we live with this? How can we abide this horror within our own schools, workplaces, and public events?
We cannot abide this! We must not abide this! Our government has done nothing about guns in this country and in fact has allowed more and more access to the most dangerous guns with no efforts to regulate this scourge on our society. I hold all government officials complicit in this indictment of our society if they have not spoken out and worked to find ways to control this outrage. I hold guilty all elected officials from our towns, cities, and states and especially from Washington, D.C. Do something! Do something to save us from ourselves! Please!
Bill Duston
Chance Street, Devens
