Warning Label

 Judge not lest ye be judged. Those were the words, more or less, from the Sermon on the Mount. Pretty heady stuff. Which is why I was taken aback just a little when I heard this odd echo from my father centuries later: "People can be so judgmental." Not that my father was particularly Christ-like, but it did give me pause to consider the way I go through my life. I don't get out of bed without making some sort of judgement, rational or otherwise. Will this day be worth my time? Judgement. Should I feed the cat? Judgement. Shall I wake my wife up and ask her for a ride to school? Judgement. All of this takes place before I set one foot out the door. 

Once I am outside, the rest of the world seems to beg for my judgement. The easiest target is quite obviously the motorists who careen across the lanes of traffic as I make my way to my destination, seemingly oblivious to the rules of the road and my own careful example. This is only the beginning of my day. 

Which is why, once I sat down at my desk to take a look at the headlines I took notice of an article that stated: Mother Of School Shooter Issues Warning. You may remember from previous episodes that I have been following the story of the Crumbley family of Oxford, Michigan. Over the past two and a half years as the parents were brought to trial on manslaughter charges connected to their son's murderous rampage in November of 2021 at his high school. After being found guilty, Jennifer Crumbley issued a statement that read in part: “This could be any parent up here in my shoes. Ethan could be your child, your grandchild, your niece, your nephew. … Your child could make a fatal decision, not just with a gun, but a knife, a vehicle, intentionally or unintentionally."

Judgement time: No, Jennifer. It could not happen to any parent. Parents who do not purchase guns for their teenaged sons probably won't fall into this category. Parents who buy cars for their teenaged sons won't fall into this category, providing they don't simply hand them the keys without having them go through the necessary education and testing that is required to operate a motor vehicle. Parents who live in a country plagued by gun violence and continue to ignore the signs socially and maternally are much more likely to leave their son at school with the gun they bought him for an early Christmas present. The gun that was not properly secured. The son whose warning signs were ignored. 

Judgement? Yes, I have a bundle of them. And I apologize to my father who art in heaven for tossing them around with such callous disregard. But I also appreciate that he raised three sons, one of whom became a peace officer and never fired his weapon in anger. The other two have lived a life free of guns and knives, and to a fair degree, cars. You want another judgement? I think my parents did a fine job.