The average life span in my fair city has been dropping in recent weeks. Two little girls, both four years old, have met with violent ends to their earthly lives.
The first to leave us was a casualty of a drive-by shooting. A stray bullet took her life while she was sleeping. The three suspects in the case are remorseful. Their purpose in spraying lead into the residence was to send a message to the little girl’s uncles.
The second to die also died in her bed. Not a lot of details, but police have named the girl’s half-brother as a suspect. No motive has been shared.
In one case, an insignificant rationale for the act. In the other, the same. When does the taking of innocent life ever bring with it a significant rationale?
There has to be a better way.
Those who have committed these crimes should and must be dealt with. But what about the untold crimes that led them to the moment in time where they made choices turned deadly?
That’s the question we should be asking as a community. We must join together to bring hope to young and old alike. Hope for answers to tough questions. Hope for a better way of living. Hope for peaceful solutions to life’s most complex puzzles.
True community fosters hope. There is a better way.