Everything is different.
The world is a different place tonight. Another town no one had ever heard of before today. A point in time that will never be as benign as it should have been. A senseless tragedy that leaves too many questions. But at the heart, everyone is asking the same question. There is really only one, although it takes a thousand forms. Why? It's the question for which there will never be a good enough answer.
Friends and neighbors are circling around those who have lost, shielding them from the outside world as best they can. They will support them physically, mentally, and emotionally. Some of them will be put in charge of removing presents from beneath Christmas trees. Finding Santa's hidden treasures, and taking them away. Putting toys back in the toy box and cleaning up the breakfast dishes. Their hearts will break and they will break down and cry while they are doing it. They will keep going. They will keep their loved ones going, too.
There are others today that are dealing with their own demons. The gut-wrenching ache of memories. They have been where this community is now. They know the fear that comes with waiting for names to be released. They know the relief when the names are not one of theirs. They know the crash when a name is. They know the sinking feeling when the date draws near every year. They know all the words in the world will not help these people right now, but maybe time will ease the ache that never fully goes away. They know that while the survivors will survive, is not what they want or need to hear today.
The attacks are coming closer together. Too close to put the last one out of your mind before the next happens. Too close to feel secure. So close that those without children can't even begin to imagine bringing a child into this world. So close that those who are parents have trouble sleeping. Today, people will call for change more loudly than they ever have before. It's always louder than it has ever been before.
Nothing has changed.
The media descended. They are as shocked and angered as the rest of the world, but they also have an agenda. They have deadlines to meet and producers/editors to appease. So they will push personal feelings aside to get the story no one else has found yet. Even if that means putting terrorized children on camera to get what they will describe as, "an eyewitness account." The town will be an unwilling host to news vans covered in satellite dishes and photographers that never lower their cameras to look people in the eyes. Reporters and news anchors will put together special broadcasts, conduct interviews... until the next big story comes along.
In just less than a year, the media will swarm the town
again. Notes will have been made on calendars so as not to forget. The
anniversary of this day will be newsworthy next year. Perhaps the year
after. Maybe even the year after that. But soon, the only people who
will remember will be those who lived it, not because of a note on a
calendar but because they are still living it.
Lawyers will wait for the frenzy to pass before making their move. They will see grieving families as a payday. They will approach them oh, so cautiously. They will point out the flaws in the system. They will convince families that financial compensation will make things better. Lawsuits will be filed against the school district, and any other entity they can tie responsibility to. Years from now, settlements will be reached. They will make the papers for a day.
Politics will come into play. The right to bear arms versus the
right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Gun enthusiasts
will remind us that guns don't kill people; people kill people. The
debate will be opened again about if the spirit in which the
constitution was written. If giving people the ability to defend their
homes and families with musket rifles is the same as the ability to
purchase multiple assault weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition
without raising any suspicion. But the debate will be between news
program hosts and lobbyists. The debate will never make it to any
legislation.
Everything is different. Nothing has changed.
