An attack on one of us really is an attack on all of us

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Yesterday, reacting to the shootings of a U.S. congressman and others at a baseball field in Virginia, House Speaker Paul Ryan took to the House floor to say this: "An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us."

That might have been a good speech if Ryan was talking about all Americans, but unfortunately, he was limiting his concern for members of Congress. I'd like to suggest to Paul Ryan and the rest of our political leaders that they need to broaden their scope.

For example, I submit that the December 14, 2012, shooting murders of 20 innocent school children and their teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut was not just an attack on those little children, but an attack on all of our children. When I heard about that mass killing and we began seeing photos of the dead children, I cried.

A lot of Americans, like me, took the Sandy Hook killing personally, especially when doctors reported on the amount of damage suffered by those little bodies when hit with multiple rounds from an assault rifle. I’ll spare you the details.

You could say the same thing about the nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida. An attack on one of those victims was an attack on all of us.

You can say it about the theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado, or the church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina, or Virginia Tech, or all the way back to Columbine High School… there are so many others I could list.

The point is, an attack on one of us really is an attack on all of us. If we’re not safe in school or the theater or a dance club or a baseball field, where exactly are we safe? The answer is “nowhere.”

Now, I’m not going to get deep into the gun debate again, because that’s kind of a lost cause. If Sandy Hook didn’t make us want to do something about guns then probably nothing ever will. But now that Paul Ryan and the other members of Congress have seen the gun violence problem up close and personal, I want to make a simple suggestion.

Please step outside your office building and look around. Mass shootings and gun violence are not just a problem when congressmen are the targets. It seems as if we have one every week.  In every case, they don’t affect just one of us, they affect all of us, so get away from the lobbyists, find a quiet spot where you can concentrate, and consider whether you think some action is required.

I realize you probably don’t care what I think and the NRA money is too good to pass up when you’re running for re-election, so you're not inclined to take any action while we’re all here on earth…but Paul, if you believe in Heaven, I’m pretty sure the 20 Sandy Hook children would be there right now, and I’m guessing that Wayne LaPierre and his cronies at the NRA – who put gun sales ahead of human lives – probably wouldn't make the cut.

What would your story be?