When past mass shootings occurred, I wrote about the resilient nature of how people handled these tragedies.

After the Charleston hate murders, President Obama sang Amazing Grace. When the gunfire settled down following the Orlando Pulse slaughter, the Gay Men’s Choir of Washington sang “We Shall Overcome” at the White House. After the machine guns were quieted in Las Vegas, people launched paper lanterns up into the desert sky.

Seems a little different this time, doesn’t it?

Most people think that resilience is just about bouncing back, returning to a previous state of balance from whence they came. It is far better to think about resilience as being the quality that helps us grow from our adversities and tragedies.

Up until the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, victims, their families, and millions of others wanted to change the narrative but could only find the quieting voice of grief, that they hoped would return them to normalcy.

That has all changed now and I, for one, believe that the youthful exuberance of the #NoMoreGuns movement is lighting a spark that will transform the nation on this issue. These young people are taking this challenge on and their energy will create a transformation drawn out of the resilience principle that we just don’t want things to be the way they use to be.

© Richard Citrin, All rights reserved, 2018

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