Flower Friday : : Salvia

Against a background of red amaranthus. In memory of the nine students dead in Roseburg, Oregon at the hands of a lone gunman. When will it ever stop?

Another mass shooting by another lone gunman. More bereaved families. More grief and loss. Only in America so we have such a dismal record of psychopaths carrying guns and using them against the innocent. Only in America do we seem to be incapable of enacting even the most watered down gun control laws. Until we take the money out of our elections, groups like the NRA will continue to hold sway.

All I can offer interns of what we as individuals can do to stop this madness is that perhaps we should stop empowering the unbalanced shooters by writing about them, speculating about them, quoting their blogs and rants, or even naming them. Instead, we should honor the innocent victims who were simply going about their lives. They deserved a chance to achieve their goals, and live their lives in peace.