OPINION: The True Reason So Many Belittle "Thoughts and Prayers" in the Face of Tragedy
It has become en vogue to question and belittle the “thoughts and prayers” offered after a mass shooting.
This is specifically after a mass shooting, mind you.
When public figures offer “thoughts and prayers” in the aftermath of a tornado or hurricane or to the family of someone who has passed from sickness or a horrific accident, no one questions said “thoughts and prayers.”
The doubt that is cast on words as well-meaning and innocent as “I’m sorry for your lost” is specific only to those offering these words of compassion and kidness to those affected by a high-profile mass shooting.
The reason why takes no guesswork: it is because, rather than “thoughts and prayers,” many public figures would much prefer that the attitude was instead “ban all guns.”
For some reason, these people, apparently so impassioned as they are at more horrific loss at the hands of a crazed mass murderer that just so happens to be armed with a semi-automatic “assault” rifle, forget to spend any time pondering how effective their messaging is when they bulldoze over such a simple expression of humanity as offering thoughts and prayers for those most severely impacted by a mass shooting.
We could get into the details of how ill-informed the anti-gun left is, but what’s going on here strikes much deeper than debates over policy, gun crime statistics, and the constitution.
It strikes at the core of the soul of our culture, that is, one that has grown so coldly atheistic that the state has surpassed the heavenly ruler of the universe in whom we find comfort when the ugliest side of humanity rears its ugly head.
“Worldviews have consequences,” writes Dan Andros of Faithwire. “A worldview that excludes God leaves a massive void, and people naturally look to someone other than Him as their ultimate authority. And when people look to fallible humans (and bureaucratic systems made up of fallible humans) it’s a recipe for disaster.”
He explains that more and more people are filling that void with popular pundits like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who because the latest high-profile leftist to question “thoughts and prayers” with no apparent knowledge of the policy factors involved in the deadly New Zealand mosque massacre.
At 1st I thought of saying, “Imagine being told your house of faith isn’t safe anymore.”
But I couldn’t say “imagine.”
Because of Charleston.
Pittsburgh.
Sutherland Springs.What good are your thoughts & prayers when they don’t even keep the pews safe?pic.twitter.com/2mSw0azDN8
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 15, 2019
AOC is not known for her intelligence, but rather the kind of demagoguery that feeds people what they want to hear as a thinly veiled attempt to give the state more power.
A state in whom they trust their faith rather than a God.
AOC is showing not only her extreme ignorance in…well, just about everything (is she suggesting we ban guns worldwide? Global dictator aspirations much?), but particularly theology.
We do not offer thoughts and prayers because we are waiting for a God that rewards materially to wave his magic Jesus wand and answer our prayers.
We offer thoughts to reinforce our humanity, the extreme compassion human beings have for one another when facing the unthinkable loss of a loved one. We offer prayers so that the God of comfort will comfort those in pain. So that those most deeply affected by the tragedy might find peace, might make some sort of spiritual sense of it all and find the strength to go on.
The moment we abandon thoughts and prayers is the moment we can no longer govern civilly or decently. And we sadly might already be beyond that point.
