Like many people in America, this morning I woke up to news of the Las Vegas mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival last night.  Like many people, I am still processing this shooting, as I have processed the numerous mass shootings that have taken place since Sandy Hook.

If you know me, and/or have followed this blog since its inception, you know that some my very first posts were about Sandy Hook and its aftermath because my family lives in Newtown; my nephew was a 2nd grade student at Sandy Hook Elementary School; my brother’s family and community still grieves and struggles with the impact of the shooting on their community 5 years later, even as they have “moved forward” in living day to day.  I have had acquaintances and friends touched by several mass shootings since Sandy Hook.  Every time, every time, every time, I have felt the same cycle of emotions: shock, loneliness, grief, anger, helplessness, more anger, and a desire to do something that will make a difference.

I’m not an angry person, but my anger stems from the helplessness I feel in each of these moments.  I know how to advocate and use my voice, and I do that.  I do believe that advocating for responsible gun ownership (if gun ownership must exist in the US) is critical.  I also don’t believe in dismissing thoughts and prayers.  But, honestly, I don’t believe that thoughts, prayers or even advocacy are enough.

We must come together in community.

After Sandy Hook, I read about a gun activist who said to a mother who had lost her child, “My right to bear arms is greater than your child’s right to life.” I don’t know if this was fake or real news, and the point is not to argue legitimacy of the quote.  The point is that we live in a society where someone could conceivably say that to another person.  We live in a society where, whether we say that or not, we sometimes hold our own rights and privileges above the rights of others to life and humanity.  We live in a society where we can and often do choose to ignore or dismiss the suffering of other human beings because they are not like us, because we do not believe that their stories are true, because they don’t live in our neighborhoods, because they have a different immigration status.  We are more committed to being right and justified than we are to coming together to community.

I don’t have to agree with you to love you.  I love many people who I have deep and fundamental disagreements with on many areas.  I still choose love.  I still choose to honor their humanity.  Many people don’t agree with my beliefs. I’m not asking for agreement, but I am open to engagement that doesn’t need to end in consensus, but that is done with an open spirit.  Because if we engage, then even if we leave with our beliefs in tact or solidified, we can no longer dehumanize someone who is not like us.

I am no one so important.  I am a single voice.  But, I see a community crisis.  And, I ask you to engage, to find someone who is different and search for similarities, for common humanity.  And yes, continue to pray, advocate for your beliefs, and hug your children tight.  But, don’t do it in your own enclaves, because then we are just waiting for the inevitable next time.