by KATIE ARRINGTON || Nearly sixty people were killed and more than 500 were wounded in the most horrific mass shooting in our nation’s history this week.
Why did it happen? Why did congressman Steve Scalise get shot a few months ago? Why did Sandy Hook happen in 2012?
Many extreme liberals immediately pointed the finger at guns. Meanwhile, in the case of the Scalise shooting, congressman Mark Sanford blamed President Donald Trump.
They are all wrong.
These mass shootings and other acts of senseless violence stem from one thing – a plague that is consuming us all, a plague that neither sees nor cares about race, gender, or political affiliation. What plague am I referring to? The devaluing of human life.
Many people in this world – including the perpetrator of this senseless act of violence in Las Vegas – have no respect whatsoever for the dignity and sanctity of human life.
If motivated to commit such atrocities, evil people like this will attempt to kill others using whatever means are available to them – be it a gun, knife, car, bomb, etc.
Guns don’t kill people, knives don’t kill people, vehicles don’t kill people; people kill people.
And why do they kill people? Because they have forgotten – or they never knew – the sacredness of human life.
In addition to prayer, how can this problem be fixed? As a society, I believe we must re-educate (or, in some cases, educate for the first time) children and communities on the importance and value of human life.
In other words we must focus on the source of this plague, not the symptoms of it. The symptoms of this plague are mass shootings, domestic violence, abortions, drug overdoses, abuse of the elderly, and, sadly, a litany of other problems facing our nation and our world. The sad reality is that none of these are new problems; they have been building for decades and will require just as much positive energy to halt, and hopefully reverse.
To cure this plague, we need to teach all that every life is precious and relevant and that all lives matter.
This core belief is what drives me to serve the people of South Carolina as a member of the House of Representatives. It drives my thinking in every decision I make as a leader – and decisions made by many others in public service who are pro-life.
While I will continue to use my voice to promote and defend the sanctity of human life, it is not just the politicians’ responsibility to do so.
While politicians create law, they don’t create personal responsibility. Each and every citizen must speak up and speak out about the value of every human life.
It is up to each one of us as individual human beings to teach our children and grandchildren – and to remind others of our common morals and ethics.
We don’t have a gun control issue in this country, we have a moral crisis that is ripping apart the fundamental fabric of our Republic. Until we recognize the root of this crisis and respond accordingly, neither political rhetoric nor legislative edict will achieve our goal – which must be getting people to stop killing each other and start working together for our common liberty, prosperity and sustainability as a nation.
We must reassert the inherent indispensability and inviolability of life as our most essential American liberty – and we must do it now before more of our brothers and sisters are senselessly slaughtered.
Katie Arrington represents S.C. House District 94 in the Palmetto State’s General Assembly. She is a candidate for the GOP nomination for South Carolina’s first congressional district in 2018.
***
WANNA SOUND OFF?
Got something you’d like to say in response to one of our stories? Please feel free to submit your own guest column or letter to the editor via-email HERE. Got a tip for us? CLICK HERE. Got a technical question? CLICK HERE. Want to support what we’re doing? SUBSCRIBE HERE.
Banner via Sam Holland for S.C. House