non GMC
- Thread starter terry skinner
- Start date
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
I received this in my e-mail and feel compelled to share with all of you.
WHAT DOES COLUMBINE SAY ABOUT US?
The president said yesterday that the tragedy at Columbine should make
us look critically at ourselves as a society and as a nation. That we
should search out our obvious weaknesses and failings as a people and as a
culture.
The president saw Tuesday as a day of national shame. I don't see it
that way at all.
I look at Columbine and I am proud to be an American. I am touched and
inspired by the goodness and courage of average people, and the extent
to which decency and faith spring from the American breast. I mean no
disrespect, and I am not overlooking the great pain Tuesday's carnage
wrought on so many lives and families, but as I look at what happened in
Littleton I see proof not that things are going wrong in America, but
that things are going right.
Countless people, from Joe and Betty America to their politicians and
commentators, have waxed gravely about what the Columbine murders "say
about us." A Utah state legislator said it all started when "they took
prayer
out of schools." Rosie O'Donnell ranted angrily that we must "stand up to
the NRA." A minister at a Denver memorial service said "gun manufacturers
must be held accountable for this tragedy."
For two days on my radio show I have heard from people who blame
abortion, poor parenting, a lack of personal responsibility, Bill Clinton,
liberals in general and a growing lack of spirituality in our society. Each
of them
has seen some great flaw in the American heart that gave rise to the
butchers of Columbine.
And each of them has been wrong.
Because to see the two murderers and the evil they did as a product of
our national soul, and then to simultaneously ignore the hundreds of heroes
and the goodness they did is to misrepresent the truth. If the tiny evil
minority is a product of this society, so too is the overwhelming good
majority.
If you look at our failures, you must also look at our successes. I'm
humbled to belong to a society which produced a hero teacher who, shot
through the chest, his lifeblood glugging away, led a group of students
to the barricaded safety of a classroom. For three and a half hours, as he
knew he was dying, he calmed the students, and gave them direction.
I am proud to know that my country raised the youngsters who clustered
around that teacher, tending his wounds as best they could, keeping him
conscious, using a cellular phone to call paramedics for advice. I am
honored to share citizenship with the boy who thought to pull out the
teacher's wallet so that he might look upon pictures of his family as he
fought to stay alive. It was this culture which produced another
teacher, his charges hiding in a room, brave enough to stand with nothing
more
than a fire extinguisher to drive away a threat to his students' safety.
The teen-agers who knelt to shield and comfort their wounded classmates
grew up in this society. As they carried the injured to safety and stopped
to
pray with the frightened, they were acting out of a set of values they
learned as Americans. One boy in the library threw himself on top of a
fellow student, whispering to her to be calm, saying he would protect
her body with his own. That boy, that hero, grew up in a world with legal
guns, violent video games, hateful rock 'n' roll, no prayer in schools,
countless abortions, grizzly movies, Bill Clinton in the White House and
record
divorce rates. Yet he, and hundreds of others, acted with the purest of
human virtues and in a noble and selfless fashion.
What does that "say about us?"
It says we are a good people. And while we have weaknesses and
challenges, we are fundamentally strong. Our heart is essentially good, our
children
are raised with natural decency. Lunch ladies shouted directions for
students to flee, ninth-graders organized into groups for protection,
children's
cell phones told cops where the shooting was and when it had died down. And
in the wake of it all, children with shattered lives stood before cameras
and politely and clearly told a nation what they had seen. Strong enough to
care, strong enough to endure, strong enough to witness.
As the tears are wiped away and the shock and grief begin to fade,
Columbine will leave me with pride. Pride in the students and teachers of
that
suburban school, one little community that represents us all. With
dignity, compassion and courage.
The America those kids grew up in helped them to be some of the best and
strongest people in the world. They are not the product of a failed
society, they are the offspring of the greatest culture and nation on earth.
The president who saw no flaw in himself is too quick to see a flaw in
us.
Those who hate our way of life, or who seek to use tragedy to advance
their political causes, will see deep trouble in the American soul. But
their
perception is not true. It doesn't reflect us, it reflects them. This is a
good land. We are a good people. The children we raise are
overwhelmingly decent and pure. For us to mistakenly assert otherwise is to
deny them
and their virtue.
It is to deny the testament of the heroes of Columbine.
by Bob Lonsberry c 1999
WHAT DOES COLUMBINE SAY ABOUT US?
The president said yesterday that the tragedy at Columbine should make
us look critically at ourselves as a society and as a nation. That we
should search out our obvious weaknesses and failings as a people and as a
culture.
The president saw Tuesday as a day of national shame. I don't see it
that way at all.
I look at Columbine and I am proud to be an American. I am touched and
inspired by the goodness and courage of average people, and the extent
to which decency and faith spring from the American breast. I mean no
disrespect, and I am not overlooking the great pain Tuesday's carnage
wrought on so many lives and families, but as I look at what happened in
Littleton I see proof not that things are going wrong in America, but
that things are going right.
Countless people, from Joe and Betty America to their politicians and
commentators, have waxed gravely about what the Columbine murders "say
about us." A Utah state legislator said it all started when "they took
prayer
out of schools." Rosie O'Donnell ranted angrily that we must "stand up to
the NRA." A minister at a Denver memorial service said "gun manufacturers
must be held accountable for this tragedy."
For two days on my radio show I have heard from people who blame
abortion, poor parenting, a lack of personal responsibility, Bill Clinton,
liberals in general and a growing lack of spirituality in our society. Each
of them
has seen some great flaw in the American heart that gave rise to the
butchers of Columbine.
And each of them has been wrong.
Because to see the two murderers and the evil they did as a product of
our national soul, and then to simultaneously ignore the hundreds of heroes
and the goodness they did is to misrepresent the truth. If the tiny evil
minority is a product of this society, so too is the overwhelming good
majority.
If you look at our failures, you must also look at our successes. I'm
humbled to belong to a society which produced a hero teacher who, shot
through the chest, his lifeblood glugging away, led a group of students
to the barricaded safety of a classroom. For three and a half hours, as he
knew he was dying, he calmed the students, and gave them direction.
I am proud to know that my country raised the youngsters who clustered
around that teacher, tending his wounds as best they could, keeping him
conscious, using a cellular phone to call paramedics for advice. I am
honored to share citizenship with the boy who thought to pull out the
teacher's wallet so that he might look upon pictures of his family as he
fought to stay alive. It was this culture which produced another
teacher, his charges hiding in a room, brave enough to stand with nothing
more
than a fire extinguisher to drive away a threat to his students' safety.
The teen-agers who knelt to shield and comfort their wounded classmates
grew up in this society. As they carried the injured to safety and stopped
to
pray with the frightened, they were acting out of a set of values they
learned as Americans. One boy in the library threw himself on top of a
fellow student, whispering to her to be calm, saying he would protect
her body with his own. That boy, that hero, grew up in a world with legal
guns, violent video games, hateful rock 'n' roll, no prayer in schools,
countless abortions, grizzly movies, Bill Clinton in the White House and
record
divorce rates. Yet he, and hundreds of others, acted with the purest of
human virtues and in a noble and selfless fashion.
What does that "say about us?"
It says we are a good people. And while we have weaknesses and
challenges, we are fundamentally strong. Our heart is essentially good, our
children
are raised with natural decency. Lunch ladies shouted directions for
students to flee, ninth-graders organized into groups for protection,
children's
cell phones told cops where the shooting was and when it had died down. And
in the wake of it all, children with shattered lives stood before cameras
and politely and clearly told a nation what they had seen. Strong enough to
care, strong enough to endure, strong enough to witness.
As the tears are wiped away and the shock and grief begin to fade,
Columbine will leave me with pride. Pride in the students and teachers of
that
suburban school, one little community that represents us all. With
dignity, compassion and courage.
The America those kids grew up in helped them to be some of the best and
strongest people in the world. They are not the product of a failed
society, they are the offspring of the greatest culture and nation on earth.
The president who saw no flaw in himself is too quick to see a flaw in
us.
Those who hate our way of life, or who seek to use tragedy to advance
their political causes, will see deep trouble in the American soul. But
their
perception is not true. It doesn't reflect us, it reflects them. This is a
good land. We are a good people. The children we raise are
overwhelmingly decent and pure. For us to mistakenly assert otherwise is to
deny them
and their virtue.
It is to deny the testament of the heroes of Columbine.
by Bob Lonsberry c 1999
Why would you be "Compelled" to share such non GMC ramblings with us?
If I want garbage like this I'll just turn on the TV.
John
>
> I received this in my e-mail and feel compelled to share with all of you.
>
> WHAT DOES COLUMBINE SAY ABOUT US?
If I want garbage like this I'll just turn on the TV.
John
>
> I received this in my e-mail and feel compelled to share with all of you.
>
> WHAT DOES COLUMBINE SAY ABOUT US?
GMCers
Whether we want to read this type of 'stuff' or not,
it was labeled....'Non-GMC'.
Good Lord, did I really take a stand on
something ? People say I'm indecisive, but I'm not
sure .
MikeB
NS
- --- Terry & Diane Skinner
wrote:
> I received this in my e-mail and feel compelled to
> share with all of you.
>
>
> WHAT DOES COLUMBINE SAY ABOUT US?
>
_________________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com
Whether we want to read this type of 'stuff' or not,
it was labeled....'Non-GMC'.
Good Lord, did I really take a stand on
something ? People say I'm indecisive, but I'm not
sure .
MikeB
NS
- --- Terry & Diane Skinner
wrote:
> I received this in my e-mail and feel compelled to
> share with all of you.
>
>
> WHAT DOES COLUMBINE SAY ABOUT US?
>
_________________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com
