manoramac

Jul 19, 20222 min read

If Not NOW, then WHEN?

Each time I tried to tell myself

This might be the last time

that we are in this mess

Tomorrow shall be a better day

We have the right tool, ‘Education’

We have the power of ‘Knowledge’

And we can fairly identify

the root of our problems

It may not be easy, but

We must not rest till we find a fix.

Unfortunately, the history repeats

Every morning before even I wake up.

Do I not have the right education?

Or I am impotent?

Or I am a robot with no emotions attached?

Why can’t I learn a lesson, and

Stop this carnage from happening again?

Now I fear, with hundreds of mass shootings

What if I get used to them?

Not bothered with happenings

What if my emotions get stoned?

What if like a daily chore

I will search newspapers for patterns

Where and how is the history repeated again?

What if like a math whiz I will analyze

The records and graphs

Counting the number of schools

Which town this time and how many kids got killed?

Young or old? Or do they belong to which color and race?

Where are the protests organized and prayers rendered?

Now I fear, for my children, for my neighbor,

For my near and dear

I fear for those whom I don’t even know or care.

I fear growing old in a world

Where more than hugs and smiles

I count gunshots and deaths

I don’t even know if I am alive tomorrow

to count me among the dead.

Isn’t it concerning to wake up with fear?

Isn’t it disturbing to know as parents

Shooter drills are part of our school curricula?

Isn’t it alarming to know mental illness is rising?

The bottom line is our education is failing us

Modernization is taking us farther and farther

From the warmth of love to hatred

From peace to war

From good physical health to mental illness

Basically, uprooting us from everything that makes us human.

You reap what you sow!

Is it still not the right time to ask?

Where did we go wrong?

When did we drift?

And how can we rectify this?

Or should we just quietly sleep?