Do It Yourself Miracle

 A pause here. 

A cessation of hostilities, not unlike that long ago Christmas Eve when soldiers left the trenches and wandered into No Man's Land, looking to share a bit of food and conversation. For a day or so, civility reigned on the battlefields of World War One. Not the "tenuous ceasefire" that everyone would hope and pray might hold through the holiday, but a real halt to the killing. 

I understand that what I am asking here is a bit of a dream. For all the guns to be stilled for just this one night would be asking for the moon. Tensions run high during the holiday season. Stress is brutal as families come together with the hopes of gathering in peace where there has not been any for months. Years. Those that have want more. Those with less want the more that those that have are stockpiling. Those with hope question their own as those without hope are looking for a way out.

As we reach the end of 2023, more than forty-one thousand Americans have died this year from gun violence. That amounts to more than one hundred thirteen men, women and children every single day. Every. Single. Day.

Taking one day off from the slaughter will not affect the bottom line that much, but it would be a gift to us all to know that if we wanted to, we could. We could stop the killing. We could put an end to the suffering not to just the victims and the wounded, but the families and friends who spend the rest of their lives wondering why. 

Why do we need a Constitutional Amendment to tell us how to behave? The sad irony is that the birthplace of the First Commandment is currently experiencing more than its share of killing. Thou shall not kill. Unless you have a really good reason. And a loaded weapon. 

I know that there will be those who argue that they needed to defend themselves. How about for just this one night we try barricading ourselves in our homes instead of looking for opportunities to pop a cap in our fellow man? 

It doesn't take a miracle. It just takes a little common sense.