Apparently a 24 year-old shot up his former youth ministry. You can check out the story here http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22221432/ and I would be interested in any reactions it prompts from you. For example, why wasn't this broadcast as publicly as other shootings? I would like to believe it was because the media has learned the dangers of sensationalizing violence, and maybe, because this also happened in Denver, that is the case. But it got me thinking about all the shootings that occur every day. Not just murders or gang violence, but kids shooting kids. Just two days ago someone opened fire on a school bus in North Las Vegas as the kids were getting off. Thankfully no one was killed that I know of, but several were injured. When I lived in Boston many kids were gunned down in drive-bys or vengeance attacks (gang-related and otherwise) but none received the sort of attention that Columbine, or Virginia Tech, or the Amish School did.

Why is the slaughter of some so much more traumatic and "news-worthy"? Is it because this guy, the one who attacked his former church, was a former Christian lashing out against Christians? Was there worry that too much coverage would lead to speculation of conservative Christianity? I myself, as I read the article, was surprised at the description of the home schooling--curriculum designed around the Bible as a main text and supporter. And then I thought, this isn't new. I've worked with people that carry these beliefs, that were, in fact, home schooling their children with this sort of conservative Christian curriculum.

And then I thought about how we are always so aghast at Islam. The way our country looks at the treatment of women in the Middle East and shake our heads in disbelief. But are we really so much better? You could say as a society yes; it is individuals who chose to raise their families in a particularly conservative environment and not the government. And I would agree up to a point. But as the 2008 elections draw near and Huckabee comes from behind and the republicans bring up religion again I can't help but wonder--are we really so different any more?

We pass laws based on Christian morality. We vote for president's based on "family values" and whether or not they are "Christian" enough for us. We have a Christian Coalition of America that defines Catholicism and Mormonism as not Christian. (Catholics came before the Protestants by the way and LDS members do believe in Jesus Christ as the son of God, which, in my rudimentary system, is how all the Protestants define Christianity because they don't share any other beliefs.) Our separation of church and state is more a lip service at this point then a reality. I am not anti-Christian, though I am not, in fact, Christian, and I know this throws a lot of people, possibly you, for a loop.

What I am saying does not have anything to do with the article mentioned earlier, per say, but rather the thought process brought on by the article. It is the acknowledgment that America is not so great as we would like to think that it is. I believe a lot of that comes from our youth as a nation, we haven't fought our way through these problems yet, but it also comes from our arrogance as a nation. Because we recognized the problems of history we thought we could circumnavigate our way around them.

England colonized the world and committed genocide of many native peoples. The original settlers colonized America and committed genocide of our own Native Americans. Germany threw Jews in concentration camps and we threw Japanese in internment camps. England rallied from WWII by instituting national health care and unparalleled strides towards democracy. We rallied from September 11th by working on a monument and declaring war on a country that had nothing to do with it.

And so yes, I am a little sad with where this train of thought has taken me, but not broken. I'm not giving up on America, but I am fervently hoping that sometime in the near future, be it the 2008 elections or not, that we can return to our former state of ideals, imperfect as they are and work towards improving ourselves. I'm hopeful that we can learn from not only history, but the world around us by seeing what we can do to improve ourselves, instead of finding the most horrible examples of humanity and rejoicing that we're not like that. I'm hopeful because that's what America is--a country about hope. And maybe that's what's become so unAmerican about us all lately--we've given up hope that anything will ever get better, or that we could help it become that way.

So that's my patriotic pledge. Not to wear a shirt decorated like the flag or to stick a magnet on my car or to spew hate at everyone protesting the war. My act of patriotism is to not give up on what America was supposed to be and to do everything I can to make the most of what it is. And maybe my first act will be to acknowledge that the loss of any life is tragic--even if it's poor, fat, or ugly.