The killing continues despite “thoughts and prayers,” and it will only get worse as we hide behind pride, ideology, party, patriotism, the constitution and religion. We will continue to kill because of hate, extremism, mental illness and essentially any excuse that fulfills our needs. The killing will randomly or specifically spread to include much of our society; no one is immune or protected.

The mostly hollow attempts to “do something” or get at the “core issues” are just that — ineffective as are the words and deeds of our leaders and legislators. Change will only have a chance when the killing gets closer to the homes of our pundits — when a specific rather than a random child is murdered; when a public person or a known and respected person rather than just another person, a father, mother, grandparent, teenager, child is gunned down and murdered.

It is terrible to think (and know) that someone known, prominent, respected has to be murdered before there is a chance for change, but that is the current reality in our great country — America — we want to sing your praises but our voices are choked every day with the gasps of another murder or mass murder, and instead of song, we have fear for ourselves, our neighbors, our friends and everyone else. We all want the killing to stop.

Herbert Abelson

Granby

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