The reaping

For his 5th birthday a boy gets a nice toy gun to play with.
for his tenth, he gets that new bb gun he's been looking at all year.
for his 12th he gets his first 22 rifle, and a proper "talking to" about gun safety.
in between those years he's spent hours pretending to shoot his little sister,
taking aim at the nieghbors, sneaking through alleys, evading detection on the back lawn.
copying all the things he see's in the movies, tv, and his favorite video games.

One day, he's 25, walks into a convenience store, pulls out a gun, shoots the clerk, and robs the place.

His parents say they dont understand what made him this way,
after all they gave him all he needed,
educated him,
fed and clothed him,
loved and cared for him.


We live in a society that claims to want to bring peace and democracy to the world,
we claim to be a society that values life, liberty, and happiness,
Why then do we subject our children to the onslaught of violence,
give them the tools of destruction and chaos,
teach them death and disgrace,
and then punish them for the lessons we've taught them.

for the first 18 yrs of our lives we are told to be silent and obey,
once 18 we are told to get out and be an adult,

we cannot take to the world, that which we do not possess.