by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
Today is, of course, Valentine's Day, but for the past couple of years it has also been a day associated with the predominantly American issue of school shootings. It was two years ago today that a student gunman opened fire in the halls of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and killed seventeen students and faculty members. When that event occurred America had become so accustomed to shootings in our schools that they often seemed to be rapidly forgotten.
But the young people from Parkland changed all of that. They decided that they had had enough of the senseless school violence that was enabled in large part by America's love affair with guns - and those "kids" determined to do something about it. A large group became politically active in the gun control movement and made their presence felt in Florida's state capital, across other states, and even in the halls of Congress.
Many of the students became national spokespeople in the campaign to curb gun availability in the United States - and many were reviled by conservative news outlets like Fox and the National Rifle Association. The impassioned youth organized and brought public pressure to bear on the gun lobby unlike any that it had ever experienced before.
Now, even though many of those "rabble-rouser kids" are in college, they are also still engaged in fighting the good fight.
The students at Parkland taught America that the gun lobby was not invincible.
Today the Broward County Public Schools of Florida, the district that includes Parkland, has dismissed classes for the day to allow students and staff to spend time participating in various acts of public service. Two-hundred-and-thirty sites have been established around the area where students and staff can engage in activities to benefit the members of the local community. The event is being referred to as "A Day of Service and Love," and it has been instituted to give back to the community in honor of all of those who lost their lives at the high school two years ago. It is intended to raise awareness about meaningful issues and programs that impact the local area.
Students who are involved in the program will receive "community service" hours as a part of the school district's Student Volunteer Service Program.
It's a noble effort aimed at reaching across social divides to enhance the lives of everyone in the community, and Broward County Public Schools must certainly be commended on this very positive approach to opening the hearts and minds of all of the people who live in and around the school district.
And the young adults who attended Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and are now scattered across the United States in colleges and universities - and still fighting to ban assault weapons - need to be recognized as well. Their work is a "community" service that is intended to benefit an entire nation.
May they all be successful beyond their wildest imaginings - and may the United States of America once again become a civilized country where "active shooter drills" no longer have a place - or a need - in the curriculum of our schools.
Citizen Journalist
Today is, of course, Valentine's Day, but for the past couple of years it has also been a day associated with the predominantly American issue of school shootings. It was two years ago today that a student gunman opened fire in the halls of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and killed seventeen students and faculty members. When that event occurred America had become so accustomed to shootings in our schools that they often seemed to be rapidly forgotten.
But the young people from Parkland changed all of that. They decided that they had had enough of the senseless school violence that was enabled in large part by America's love affair with guns - and those "kids" determined to do something about it. A large group became politically active in the gun control movement and made their presence felt in Florida's state capital, across other states, and even in the halls of Congress.
Many of the students became national spokespeople in the campaign to curb gun availability in the United States - and many were reviled by conservative news outlets like Fox and the National Rifle Association. The impassioned youth organized and brought public pressure to bear on the gun lobby unlike any that it had ever experienced before.
Now, even though many of those "rabble-rouser kids" are in college, they are also still engaged in fighting the good fight.
The students at Parkland taught America that the gun lobby was not invincible.
Today the Broward County Public Schools of Florida, the district that includes Parkland, has dismissed classes for the day to allow students and staff to spend time participating in various acts of public service. Two-hundred-and-thirty sites have been established around the area where students and staff can engage in activities to benefit the members of the local community. The event is being referred to as "A Day of Service and Love," and it has been instituted to give back to the community in honor of all of those who lost their lives at the high school two years ago. It is intended to raise awareness about meaningful issues and programs that impact the local area.
Students who are involved in the program will receive "community service" hours as a part of the school district's Student Volunteer Service Program.
It's a noble effort aimed at reaching across social divides to enhance the lives of everyone in the community, and Broward County Public Schools must certainly be commended on this very positive approach to opening the hearts and minds of all of the people who live in and around the school district.
And the young adults who attended Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and are now scattered across the United States in colleges and universities - and still fighting to ban assault weapons - need to be recognized as well. Their work is a "community" service that is intended to benefit an entire nation.
May they all be successful beyond their wildest imaginings - and may the United States of America once again become a civilized country where "active shooter drills" no longer have a place - or a need - in the curriculum of our schools.
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