Silence Begets Violence

The recent shooting in Newtown, Connecticut is so tragic and will definitely never be forgotten. As terrible as the shooting was, it does say a lot about our community as a whole. So many people are coming forward and asking what they can do to help. This tragedy brings our country together. It is so sad that an event this terrible is one of the only things that can bring us this close. We feel the pain of the families who lost loved ones and the pain of the community of Newtown, as they lost their light.

I believe that this particular event demanded such a direct call to action because a majority of the victims killed were children. Innocent children and teachers were killed. So many of us feel like we can relate to this. We might have siblings, cousins, or neighbors who are the same ages of the kids who were killed. It breaks my heart to think that an innocent child is killed for no reason. But this is so sad because it wasn’t just one child; it was 20 children. The teachers who died, they were truly amazing people. They put their lives before their students. They saved the lives of hundreds of kids.

I think as a society, it is our job to continue to support the community of Newtown. I read a few articles and saw a video about the 26 Acts of Kindness, and I think that if everyone tried to do that, the world would be such a better place. Every little thing that we do can help, no matter how big or small. The families in Newtown need comfort and prayers, so as a society, we should continue to keep them all in our thoughts and prayers.

Catholic Social Teaching tells us that we need to help those who are struggling. So many people are struggling after this shooting, so we need to be there for them. Also, CST tells us that we need to forgive Adam. Like Sister Helen said in Dead Man Walking, although what he did was terrible, he is not defined by that one terrible act. I think from here, we can only go up. We have faced so many tragedies, and we need to bounce back as a stronger community. We will never forget this tragedy or all the people who died, but we will forgive and recover together. 

Factory Fire

The fire in Bangladesh that happened last month is a terrible tragedy. 112 workers died in this fire. The workers were forced to continue to work, despite the fire burning down the building. It surprises me so much how clueless people can be. Why would supervisors force the workers to keep working when there is a fire? It does not make any sense to me. I think that it is definitely the responsibility of the corporations and the government, as well as the consumers. Since we buy the products, we are supporting these companies who are treating workers terribly. I think that the government is responsible because people should not be working in terrible conditions, for the whole day, barely making enough money. The government should make sure that everyone working should have enough money to survive. I think however, that the corporations have the most responsibility for this fire. Walmart, Sears, and Disney, for example, should know where all their supplies is coming from. They should not have suppliers they do not know about. After the news spread about the fire, all three companies tried to deny that they had anything to do with the factory, and when evidence was produced that they were involved, they claimed that they did not know about it. If they did not know, that is not a very good system that they have going. One thing that shocked me in the article was that more than 300 workers in Bangladesh have died in clothing factories since 2006. If this problem keeps happening, why is nothing being done about it? I think that it is our job as Americans to raise awareness of this terrible problem, and hopefully corporations and the government will help make it stop.