Welcome

WELCOME TO THE GREEN PEN!

It's my personal soapbox, a place for me to express thoughts and feelings, musings and rants, reflections and recollections; to have fun with words -- about things spiritual, environmental, social, political, economic, and, from time to time, personal. And of course about peace. Soapboxes are in public places (as London's legendary Hyde Park) on purpose, and so I invite conversations with you, for it is through civil discourse that we can gain some perspective on the seeming chaos of these changing times and learn together how to shape a positive future for ourselves, our communities, and the generations to come.

Saturday, February 17, 2018

Thoughts and Prayers Are Not Enough

And so here we go once again, almost a weekly ritual of so-called leaders (and all of us) offering thoughts and prayers for bereaved families. When are we going to take some action to avoid future such bereaved families? And by action, I'm not just talking the usual litany regarding controlling the prevalence of guns in our society. Nor am I talking about giving more attention to mental health issues. Yes, both of those are absolutely necessary and long overdue. But even that wouldn't be getting at the root causes of such mass shootings.