Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Demand A Plan

I refuse to write about Sandy Hook.  I refuse to write about the blame, the sorrow, the need for compassion, the argument around the placement of religion.  I refuse to make this tragedy about me in the sense that I wax poetic in a way that soothes only my narcissistic wounds.  Because that's what all the posts I have read on personal blogs have been.  Writing from this perspective does not feel authentic or purposeful.  Then again, I can't instruct others how to conduct their personal blogs.

But here's what I'm doing on mine:

Head over to Demandaplan.org and start making your voice heard.  Be the advocate and change agent to those who are suffering firsthand from their loss and may not have the strength to do it themselves at this point in time.

Sign the petition.

Then, draft your letter to President Obama and Congress and tell them why you want more sensible and appropriate gun laws.  They take care of all the rest.  All you have to do is wax poetic.....only hopefully with some sense of outcome at the end of it.

Here is my letter:

Dear Sen. Robert Casey, Sen. Patrick Toomey, Rep. Robert Brady, and President Barack Obama:
I support Common Sense Legislation to End Gun Violence because we all deserve to feel as safe as we possibly can in this country. As a clinical social worker in the particularly violent city of Philadelphia, I interact daily with individuals who have been affected by gun violence. Everyday, I work to help people heal from posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety, paranoia and overall fear. I have committed my life to working with those individuals in our communities who are downtrodden, under-educated, underprivileged and simply surviving. I am doing my part to ensure that these individuals learn the skills to ensure their right to live, rather than to survive. Help me by doing your part to decrease access to weapons. To create another barrier for those that are too entrenched in a culture of desperation and hopelessness as I work to do my job.

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