Thoughts and Prayers are not enough

A challenge to public officials and really anyone who says a variation of “thoughts and prayers” after yet another mass shooting — don’t.

Instead, express the actual thoughts you are thinking and the actual prayers you are praying. I mean that quite literally. They are far more meaningful than an empty worthless phrase that is really designed to ease our own discomfort and let us off the hook from having to do anything.

And then match your actions with your prayers and your thoughts. That’s how it works.

If you need an example of how this works, here’s my own personal example. After one of the shootings in January, I lamented to God, saying something to the effect of “How long oh Lord? How long? I’m so tired of the empty rhetorical cycle that happens after a shooting. A shooting happens, then “thoughts and prayers” which no one actually seems to do, then a pointless debate in which people talk past each other, and then nothing changes. Enough. This can’t go on. Amen.”

And then I started to write because it’s what I can do. I came up with the concept for a book that I hoped would align with my prayer — a book that would interrupt the empty rhetorical cycle. Out of that was born American Roulette. Along the way, other wonderful authors came on board, and like a dream, the book was published. Will this book solve all the problems? Nope. But combine it with other actual actions that align with heartfelt meaningful prayers and thoughts, and we might just have a chance for a…