On My Mind: West Side Story (and Gun Violence and Immigration) {Part 2 of 2}

Hello, Friends.

First, please, please, please read part 1 of this. I clarify some things, and this post will not make any sense if you do not read part 1. (Part 1 released on Wednesday, so just scroll down a little more. You'll see it.)

And so. I am going to write.

In an interview with the choreographer, Maija García, she was asked: What do you hope audiences take away from this fresh retelling?

And her response blew me away. She said:

“I hope the audience is inspired to look deeply at our world, especially our youth, and resolve to     listen more and feel more. I hope they connect with all the characters and consider the plurality of their experiences. I hope they reflect on the epidemic of gun violence in our country, on institutional

racism and on the criminalization of urban youth. I hope they are inspired to invest in the arts that seek to impact and transform communities. And I hope they see good kids with good hearts who are searching for family, community and acceptance like all of us.”

Ms. García summed the messages of the play up perfectly. She also made this problem about all of us, not just “those naughty kids, “those people who don't do anything,” “those politicians who don't care”. . . The problem is about all of us, and we all have a role to play in it.

School shootings and mass shootings litter the news like garbage litters our streets. At first, when I heard about a school shooting or mass shooting, I was horrified. That was so sad, and why? Why is our world so broken? And now, I hear about a mass shooting or school shooting, and blink and say: another one. Not again. And I move on. Gun violence has become commonplace, and that is unacceptable.

We must do something about shootings and gun violence. In his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King Junior explains time is neutral; It is what we do with time that matters. It's

frustrating that there is evidence that tighter gun laws lead to fewer mass shootings, but we still just say “sorry. That's too bad that happened.” and don't do anything about this issue. I have a very strong and detailed opinion about gun laws, but in the end it comes to this. I am in high school. There have been a sickening number of school shootings in the United States this year. Sometimes, I'll catch myself thinking, What would happen if there was a shooting at my school? And I have to stop that thought, because I don't want to panic. There are ways I can advocate for safer schools, but, I can't vote. Many others can. If you can vote to make our country safer, and make schoolchildren not have to worry about their safety, please do. Because, if we can save lives, we should.

If you would like more information, here is a link to March For Our Lives' mission statement. This link includes specifically what they are fighting for, and some information about them. Here is a link to sign the petition. (I included it because it had really clear guidelines of what they stand for.)

Thank you for reading all this. Please pray for these people. Please pray for our country. Please support children and families any way you can.

Spruce Nogard

Attributions: https://pixabay.com/en/rose-white-rose-white-red-love-1392458/
https://pixabay.com/en/martin-luther-king-jr-i-have-a-dream-393870/