“April is the cruelest month. . . .”
. . . especially when cowardly lions in Congress were afraid to vote for even the mildest form of gun control – followed by the massacre in Boston. True, explosives were used there, but the killers also had  ammunition.. Did anyone realize that the murdered and wounded officers  might be alive if guns weren’t so easily procured?

If the massacre of 20 children huddled in their first-grade rooms with six courageous teachers (teachers who could have taught senators what valor is all about) – plus Aurora, Tucson, Virginia Tech, Columbine and the thousands of victims who didn’t merit headlines – what Armageddon will it take to finally bring sanity to the gun scene? I respect our Constitution as much as anyone, but I bet if we were to ask our forefathers about the Second Amendment, they would be appalled to learn that modern day Americans think it’s a license to kill each other. I think the forefathers believed they were giving Colonists the right to “bear arms” in order to battle an enemy country. Militias, not massacres. Not of one another, at least.

It’s easy these bleak days to have a “what’s the use” feeling that evil has triumphed. But I find a measure of hope in the courage of many people who refuse to give up – especially the Newtown parents whose hearts, as one father said, are broken, “but not our spirits.” And indomitable Gabby Giffords who wrote a powerful op ed piece in ”The New York Times,“ saying in effect that if certain senators lack the moral fiber to vote for background checks, we will change the senators. It also heartens me to know we have a president who does have that moral fiber and who will continue to lead the fight for sane gun control. And I’m inspired by the resolve of the resilient people of Boston and its suburbs , who played a vital part in the capture of the assassin. (Imagine finding him in your backyard!)

I guess I cling to hope because what else is there?

As a character in Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie” says: ”I may be discouraged, but I’m not defeated.”

Now it’s up to us.

WEBSITE: annehosansky.com

BOOKS : “Widow’s Walk” – available through iUniverse.com; “Turning Toward Tomorrow” – xLibris.com; “Ten Women of Valor” – CreateSpace.com and Amazon.com

All also available at Barnes & Noble