The fear that pulls the trigger

My eyes are full of tears for lives of people I don’t know.
My heart is full of pain, it’s never felt so low.
This world that we are calling home is full of hate and fear.
And actions we can’t understand, our thoughts no longer clear.

We point our fingers, we pass the blame,
We’re quick to judge and shun and shame.
We think the problem lies with ‘them,’
‘The other side.’
They’re in the wrong.

But the truth is that it’s us.
We cannot claim it isn’t.
When we fail to love our neighbors,
The problem is systemic.

We turn on friends, we go online.
We spout off another oft used line.
“When will this end,”
“It has to stop.”
And in a few days we’ll let it drop.

Because the fear that grabs a gun,
The fear that pulls the trigger,
Is the fear that lives in all of us that maybe it’s something bigger.
Maybe it’s not a movement.
Maybe it’s not a club.
Maybe it’s our nation has forgotten how to love.

We’re quick to claim our rights,
And quicker to defend them.
And God forbid the soul who dares to stand against us.
We demand each other to take our side,
We blindly ignore reason.
But can you really love a country if you don’t love the people in it?

This isn’t about who’s right or wrong.
It’s more than just “let’s get along.”
It’s looking past our fears and doubts
That pit the world against us.

It’s not defending one at the expense of all the others.
It’s mercy and compassion.
It’s standing up for something bigger.

Originally published at emilyamullins.wordpress.com on July 8, 2016.