Shots from vehicles and other Driveby’s
Ho Hum! Another shooting in Oakland or Chicago or San Jose… We hardly notice them anymore. As tragic as it is for the victims, it is yesterday’s news. Only the big terrorist attacks get a lot of attention.
The truth is that drive-by shootings often take place in inner-city neighborhoods that are largely invisible to middle-class or wealthier eyes. We may not say it, but we subconsciously expect “drive passes to be a dime a dozen in THOSE areas, and there’s nothing we can do about it anyway.”
Well, we are completely wrong about that. Car shootings happen for many reasons, but they are all connected in one way or another to you and me, to the broken prison system we allow to exist, to the deep and widening chasm between the haves and the have-nots. , our underfunded education. and mental health programs, and shockingly unbalanced military budget, etc., etc. All of which we as citizens can do something about.
We are also guilty of a different kind of drive-bys. We’re not pulling the triggers on those AK 47s, but we readily accept the murderous results of their actions.
We walk past the black boy who is being hassled by a police officer for no reason other than the color of his skin. We do NOT SEE the elementary school in need of repair or the veteran waiting for long-overdue benefits or the working family who has been priced out of a housing market that does not meet the needs of ordinary people .
We are not bad people, you and me. Most of us are not totally unaware of what is going on between us. We do not consider ourselves racist. (Hell no! My friend José is a great guy. We go bowling together on Saturdays)
But friends, we are not working on the eight cylinders. Our potential to leave this world a much better place is not being fully realized, not even close. It is much easier to escape the womb of a comfortable lifestyle.
Hey, we’re not breaking any laws (well, maybe we’ll fudge our taxes a bit). We could even go to church on Sunday and not cheat on our spouses.
But is that what we want for ourselves and our lives? Do we want our legacy to proclaim to our own families and to the world that we run our lives without making waves?
Medical students take the Hippocratic Oath to “First Do No Harm,” but we would not have made the tremendous progress we have made in the practice of medicine if we stopped there.
The future for us and our children is being written right now. We make
Do you want to be an active participant in making this a better world or just another ride?