Dear Editor,
In light of the Santa Fe High School shooting last week in Texas and all the other recent shootings in this country, I have some thoughts on this disturbing trend of violence.
It is my belief that politicians begin their terms with the utmost sincere intentions of being the difference makers for their constituents, and that no matter how arduous the fights, they will stand by their campaign promises. Unfortunately, how common do we see the promises made today be broken tomorrow? Why? And why do these politicians keep being voted back in?
These politicians deliver us crumbs and renege on the more significant campaign promises. Whether it is perks, party or lobby pressure, they let us down again and again. They can be compared to “a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. They are double-minded and unstable always” (quoted from James 1:6-8 of the Holy Bible)
Since 9-11 our government has rerouted a significant amount of community funding to Homeland Security. Rightly so. It is now time to reroute some of those funds back to where security is needed most: our schools. Only Congress can reroute those funds. When Congress wants to, they can do wonderful things, but they have to be pushed. Our politicians have taken their eyes off our most important commodity, our children’s education security. This statement is meant multi-dimensionally. For example, not only educationally, but also our children’s future security, employment, family, ownerships and peace of mind are at stake. Trust me; education is a proven deterrence to incarceration. How can these politicians expect our children to even maintain focus while in school in light of these shootings? They underestimate the consciousness of fear. In addition, our schools are structurally decaying, creating a drab environment. Politicians are simply out of touch with the everyday pressures our children are under. Maybe we are too.
We now associate mental illness with these school shooters. Right. It begs the question then, what is the state of mind of our politicians to sit idly by while our children are being murdered?
In conclusion, Congress should disperse funds from Homeland Security or from some of the money we lend to other countries, to install and equip security systems in our schools. And while they’re at it, release funds for more mental health awareness programs.
Fred DeWitt
Union, MS
