I meant to write a Christmas column this week, talking about the upcoming holiday and maybe poking a little light-hearted fun at my last-minute preparations.
But it's very hard for me to get into that kind of mood this week. Not when a madman decided last week it would be a good idea to shoot up an elementary school. Twenty-six people died, not counting the killer who turned his weapon on himself and his mother.
Twenty-six people. Twenty of them young children. It hurts just to type that. What kind of human being targets six-year-olds? What could possibly have been going through the killer's mind that would justify this atrocity?
People are upset, and rightly so. When evil paints a target on the innocent, we should have strong feelings about it. We should weep with the families of the victims and pray for them. We should be angry that someone chose to commit an act of such despicable evil. The day we don't feel anything when something like this happens is the day we've lost something vital to our humanity. I pray that never happens to any of us.
Because the killer used guns, gun control has come up for debate yet again. According to a poll conducted by CNN, a "bare majority" of respondents favor major restrictions on gun ownership, if not an outright ban. Before you take these poll numbers seriously, however, keep in mind three things: the number of people polled was ridiculously small (620 people!), the margin of error in the poll is plus or minus 4 percent, and the poll was taken the Monday and Tuesday after the shootings, while emotions are still running high.
Oh, and one more thing: in the same poll a little over half the respondents think such attacks will continue to happen no matter what the government does.
I can understand why people run to the gun control argument. It is on the surface an easy fix. Just ban this or that type of gun, and everything will be fine. At least that's the impression I get from some of their arguments.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I really doubt that more gun laws are going to solve this. Because when you get right down to it, the gun isn't the real problem.
A gun is a tool. A tool capable of horrific damage, but still merely a tool. It takes a human being to put it to evil or good use. And gun control fails in general to address the human element, despite things such as background checks.
The real problem that causes attacks like the one in Newtown is a societal one. There are people in our country who have lost their moral compass. They believe the lives of others have little to no worth. And that they can act with impunity.
This is not so easy to fix. Because in many ways our country its has lost its moral compass. That brings consequences. When we as a society lose our way, is it really so shocking that young people will stray off the path?
Am I saying that a return to God and old fashioned values would prevent things like the shooting in Newtown? I am not arrogant enough to say it would prevent it 100 percent. But it could reduce the number of such atrocities.
This has been a difficult column to write. Because in the end, as long as people have free will, we run the risk of horrible things happening. And sometimes all we can do is hug our loved ones and pray that it doesn't happen again for a long, long time. I wish I could give you more than that.
Laura Ware is a Sebring resident. She can be contacted by e-mail at bookwormlady@
embarqmail.com Visit her website at www.laurahware.com. Guest columns are the opinion of the writer, not necessarily those of the staff of the News-Sun.
Sunday, December 23, 2012 - www.newssun.com/col-122312-ware