MARLBORO — July 21: I'm only mildly anxious that my teenager is heading out to The Dark Knight Rises. Colorado is 2,000 miles away and security is heightened - everywhere. Even as far away as Morocco, Facebook friends are talking about the shooting.
Some say they'll keep their kids home from the theaters. Others say that gun laws must be tightened.
Warner Brothers cancelled their red carpet Paris premiere. I get to wondering about Christian Bale. How do all those working on the film feel? Their efforts marred; their celebration stolen.
My heart goes out to the community of Aurora (a place where I lived as a kid) and to all those whose loved ones were hurt, terrorized, or stolen.
The newspaper explains that scenes of public mayhem are the hallmark of superhero movies, which begs the classic question: Does art reflect reality, or does reality reflect art?
Ever since the first Colorado massacre in 1999, I began to examine violence in my own life. I gave up shoot-'em-up films and redirected violent play among my boys. I explained that we didn't have toy guns not because they were “bad,” but because make-believe had become real.
Tragedies such as these are complex beasts. There are gun issues and mental health issues and all kinds of responsibilities to explore.
The director of The Dark Knight Rises expressed sorrow on behalf of the cast and crew for such a “senseless tragedy.”
But is it truly senseless? Aren't we beginning to “sense” a larger pattern?
Or will we continue to call these acts of violence random?
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July 27: When my oldest was toddling around, he picked up a line from a movie that I was watching and repeated it incessantly.
Now I want to share that phrase with you, America, but I'll just say it once: Drop the f--ing gun!
I know guns are precious to you. I get our history. But you know it's time. You've seen too many children killed. Too many massacres in everyday places.
If the politicians can't do it, do it yourselves. One by one. In honor of every innocent person murdered. In honor of the 111 people shot in this country today. Or the 56,000 shot this year.
Don't do the “Guns don't kill people, people kill people,” thing. You're too smart for that. You understand the facts. You know that countries with stricter laws have fewer deaths.
It's a simple matter of percentages. Let's put them in our favor. In our kids' favor. In our grandchildren's favor.
If you don't have a gun, give up something else.
Violent film? Toy Uzis? Killing games? Bad attitudes?
See your therapist or your pastor when you're angry. Talk to a friend. Make peace with something that irks you.
Things are bad in this country. See them. Realize how close gun violence is. For all of us.
Recently, I had to wake up to that fact myself. Just moments after telling a foreign friend that she needn't worry while she was here (“I've never been threatened by a weapon,” I said), I remembered the neighbor who killed his boss at our local co-op last summer.
And the parents of students killed in hunting accidents.
And the students who shot themselves.
How close is it to you?