Grace and Peace,
How long, O Lord?
will you forget me for ever?
how long will you hide your face from me?
How long shall I have perplexity in my mind,
and grief in my heart, day after day?
how long shall my enemy triumph over me? (Ps 13:1-2)
There is a health crisis in this country, and I have little hope that we will solve it. I have witnessed the “war on cancer” and the ice bucket challenges for ALS, but this health crisis divides and does not unify.
In 2020 the leading cause of death for children and teens, ages 1-19, was identified as firearm-related. Guns kill more children and teens than any other cause, and these deaths disproportionately affect our non-white sisters and brothers. As I write this, since January there have been over 200 mass shootings and 27 school shootings in the United States. That is a mass shooting every 18 hours and a school shooting every 5 days.
There is a health crisis in America.
As a result of the health damages caused by smoking the tobacco companies paid a heavy price towards restitution. As a result of the opioid addiction that continues to plague us, the pharmaceuticals involved in the crisis are paying a heavy price towards restitution. The same is not true for manufacturers of firearms.
In 2005 our nation’s legislators passed the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act; a law that protects firearms manufacturers and dealers from being held liable for crimes committed with their products.
As a nation we value corporations, and the profits, more than we value people. This is foundational to why the health crisis of gun related deaths will not be solved by our state or national legislatures. In fact, the courts hold that corporations are “people” in many aspects of the law. The focus on corporations above people affects the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breath. With corporations enabled to contribute to political campaigns, like you and me but with much larger resources (ie: lots of money), it also affects who our legislators are on a local, state, and national level.
As long as we value corporations, and their profits, over people and the common good of society we will never solve the health crisis of firearm-related deaths. I have no hope for the United States to do what is needed. I have no hope that the legislators, on either side of the aisle, will do what is needed. We did not do it with Columbine, Sandy Hook, Parkland, Virginia Tech, Nickel Mines… and the list grows; sadly, we will not do it now.
Until there is a seismic shift in our values as a nation, until we value people and all of creation above corporations we will continue to pollute the air we breath, the water we drink, and the food we eat. Until there is a seismic shift in our values as a nation we will continue to mourn the needless deaths of our sisters and brothers; children, Black, Asian, Latino, Jewish, LGBTQ+, we will continue to mourn for them all.
This is not to say that I am without hope, for I do have hope in the Lord. God is with us, and in God’s time God will reveal that good that comes from these tragedies; God will equip us and empower us towards change. God knew it was risky to grant us free will, and we have taken that risk to the limit, so much so that we choose to place corporations above God’s own creation; God’s creation around us and in us is subservient to the nation’s worship of the almighty dollar and this nation must see a seismic shift to change that priority and align with God’s will.
Look upon me and answer me, O Lord my God;
give light to my eyes, lest I sleep in death;
Lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
and my foes rejoice that I have fallen.
But I put my trust in your mercy;
my heart is joyful because of your saving help.
I will sing to the Lord, for he has dealt with me richly;
I will praise the Name of the Lord Most High. (Ps 13:3-6)
Peace
Fr Henry+
