Be The Light

Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, ~This world of ours...must void becoming a community of dreadful fear and hate, and be instead a proud confederation of mutual trust and respect.~ Without a doubt, early Sunday morning on 12th at Pulse NightClub in Orlando, Florida is the second deadliest attack against American citizens since 9/11. For it can most definitely be a difficult situation indeed to find the words to say when horrific tragedies such as a mass shooting occur causing absolute emotional turmoil. True, a mixture of sad disbelief sets in to the point where it eventually turns into infuriating frustrated anger because it happened once again. It's an event so commonplace in the world we're living in today that it has desensitized us to the sheer cold, heartless brutality of it all. So, the big question remains, how do we best counteract and solve the situation?

First and foremost we continue to live, laugh, and smile the best we can despite the senseless tragedy this time occurring in Orlando, FL. Essentially, the sole purpose of radical Islamic terrorism is to strike fear into the hearts of the so called infidels to where it disrupts our daily lives, whereby causing each one of us as a whole to continually live in fear. Unfortunately, we as Americans are considered to be a considerably stubborn bunch and can certainly be quite defiant in a positive way when evil, hateful forces attempt to have us cower in fear. Now, pardon my English when I say ain't nobody got time for that knowing they win if we play into their hands of submitting to the fear and hate. As I said before, we continue to live, laugh, and smile the best we can, proving to ISIS along with their allies they don't have the power and counteracting it with the following powerful force of our very own: faith in humanity.

If you think about it, there is a moment where having faith in humanity can certainly leave you absolutely surprised beyond belief so much so it can be quite awe inspiring to say the least. Of course, several examples of having faith in your fellow man/woman can be shared in times of tragedy such as scores of individuals lining up at blood banks as soon as a call to replenish the blood sorely needed. Ultimately, what they received was more than enough showing not just a community but people all over the world showing a unified strength in giving blood. In addition to that, reports of complete strangers opening up their homes to their families along with certain Airlines like JetBlue offering free flights to Orlando shows an overwhelming sense of loving humanity. What it primarily comes down to is proving America does have a heart that's still beating strong unlike a terrorist organization who doesn't have one whatsoever.

Let me ask you this question pertaining to the mass shooting in Orlando, why does it take a senseless tragedy to bring us all together and then a topic such as gun control tear us apart? Thinking about it, gun control is an extremely hot topic that brings up heated discussion from politicians who have hidden agendas/ulterior motives of their own. In any case, both sides have the ability to discuss and work out a reasonable strategy but are too busy talking at/over each other to truly listen. Oftentimes, putting our faith and trust in our politicians in "doing the right thing" is a double edged sword because of how they've failed us time and time again. However, there is a possibility of a sliver of hope that the mass shooting in Orlando may have brought on some much needed face to face dialogue of a clear resolution focusing precisely on winning the war against Islamic Radical Terrorism. Hey, it remains to be seen.

Martin Luther King Jr. said, ~Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.~ The victims within Pulse night club are/were part of the LGBT community but most of all there are/were in fact human beings like the rest of us each living a different story of life. Although I do not agree with the lifestyle they lead I support them as human beings metaphorically standing by their side in true Christian love. Matthew 5:14 says ~Ye are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid.~ Essentially, Orlando is the city set on a hill that as we speak cannot be hidden at the moment and worldwide it is the light of the world. In the end, I encourage each one of you to be the light in some way, shape or form in order to show ISIS along with their allies that Orlando will continue to shine brightly in the light of love and not be swallowed up in the darkness of hateful fear.