When you research the ideals of the United States you will find the following: equality, liberty, and of course, the unalienable right to life. “Unalienable” meaning impossible to take away, and that if you go up on a stage and talk about what you believe, you can do so without your
life being threatened.
But when I think of the United States, I think the opposite. I think of a future where people are scared to say what they think for fear of being shot in front of their supporters, friends and family.
Numerous artists, including Bad Bunny, have skipped over the United States on tours for fear of political violence. But it goes past artists. Places like campuses, churches, town halls and concerts, once forums for dialogue, have become sites of fear rather than discussion. People are being deterred from running for positions in the government because they are scared of retaliation. But when individuals hold back their opinions, the entire foundation of a free country is ruined. Online threats are everywhere, and combined with actual violence, this only reinforces the silence.
Guns function like tools of censorship, pushing people out of the conversation. Whether criticism is pointed at a particular person or not, people can feel pressure to stay quiet.
Students are forced to walk past memorials on their campuses or decide whether or not to come to school because of a threat. Gun violence kills people while simultaneously killing speech. When a bullet is fired, the echo is heard by everyone else who thinks of speaking next. It only takes one gun to silence a whole country, and the United States has had far more than one: In more than a dozen states, numerous schools, including Virginia State and Alabama State University, have been forced into lockdowns due to online threats of violence. And with more people terrified to say anything, those who do speak out will have the most sway. The fewer voices there are, the more powerful they become. In future years, if nothing is done, people might cling to whoever is brave enough to speak, no matter what words actually come
out of their mouth.
According to CNN, there have been 53 school shootings as of Sept. 23. Of these, 27 occurred on college campuses while the other 26 happened on K-12 schools; 19 people have died while at least 84 were injured. But, at some point, news of such incidents of violence has become normal. Some will look into it, some won’t and some won’t even know it happened. News reports of school shootings have become such a frequent occurrence, especially in comparison to previous years and even other countries, that most people skip right over them. If we stop caring, nothing will ever change. First, people won’t speak in a microphone, and then they won’t speak at all. Then the only thing our world will have is empty podiums and quiet classrooms. Unalienable should also mean unshakeable—but right now, it doesn’t. The right to life and liberty means nothing when ignored by the population. Gun violence doesn’t just end lives. It ends conversations. And when conversations end, so does democracy.
