March for our Lives, Children of the United States of America are living in a war zone!

Today is March 24^th, 2018 and millions of people stood up in protest supporting young people’s “Marching for Our Lives Revolution.”  All over the world people stood with these kid, every time the subject of how these kids are protesting and waking the world up to the violence I am stunned!  I want to cry and often do.  It is so hard to comprehend that these Kids across Our Country… My Country are scared!  Every single day of their lives!  

I feel so sad.  I can only imagine what it must be like to live in a war zone and I cry for the children as they do live in a war zone.  I have a hard time thinking about this (I take a deep breath) and I realize that somehow or other there is a war going on in our own country and we never even saw it.  Until this moment of writing, I did not see it.  

As I breathe through this thought I am astonished at how much that statement somehow makes sense or feels right.  How crazy is it to think that we are at war.  These kids wake up in the morning and go to school.  Because of their present day experiences, whether on television or in their community, they fear someone may come into their school and randomly shoot them.  They have drills in the schools teaching kids what to do “just in case” a shooter comes to their school.  OMG and WTF!  The last time there were drills like that in schools we were at war!  I am in Shock!

I stop and think of my life and how blessed I am and have been.  It hasn’t always flowed easily, there were ups and downs, but I was 26 years old before I realized I was not invincible.  I think that’s pretty amazing.  I lost that invincible feeling after I was the victim of a crime.  I healed from that crime, which had me scared for a while, but I no longer lived in fear on a daily basis, it was not a long term fear for my life.  Most kids in this country are in fear for their life on a daily basis. 

Reality check, is most of the American public in fear for their life on a daily basis?  Am I in fear for my life?  I was born and raised in Minnesota, lived only 90 miles from the Canadian border for 20 years of my life.  Now living in Arizona looking the way I do, I do not leave home without my driver’s license.  I need to have proof that I am an American Citizen.  I do not want to be deported, I can’t speak Spanish.  

I was too young in the 60’s to get involved in protests and rallies but I always wished I could have been there.  In 1980 I had a chance to go to Washington DC to March with Migrant Farm Workers, for working conditions or pay… I don’t recall.  I was in college and the President of the Latino Student Organization and it made sense and is one of the highlights of my life.  I finally got to protest and listen to amazing speakers like Jesse Jackson.  I was not in fear, my reason for being there was to support others in their quest for the American Dream. 

In the last few years there have been many things I have witnessed that caused me to want to get out and protest.  I almost made it to the Woman’s March, but it was snowy and rainy and I couldn’t get myself to leave the warm comfortable living room.  I watched it live on TV.  It's hard for us to move out of our comfort zone.  It is safer to support from a distance.  I know I can write my congress person and my Senators, but what else can I do?

 

Marching for Our Lives seems to have struck a deep cord within me.  I’ve been pretty angry, upset and then resigned over the last few years as I am appalled at what is happening in our Country.  Deep down I have believed that something was going to happen to make a huge shift. To open our eyes in mass so that we can stop the decimation of our world.  I would have never expected it to be that kids are being shot down and murdered at school.  

I am not sure exactly what I feel at this moment with the thought floating through my being that the Children of the United States of America are living in a war zone.  We are all living in a war zone and we don’t even know it!  How did we let this happen?

A friend of mine was in Washington D.C. for the march today.  She said it feels different.  She has hope for the future after attending the rally in D.C. I watched a few clips from the March and I thought these kids were very well spoken, uplifting and positive. 

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!  It’s time for a change!  Never Again!  And Vote them out!  These are the statements from this group of young people who are fighting for their lives.  In a non-violent manner demanding change.  

What will you do to stop the war in America?

In Gratitude,

Linda G