The War on Thoughts and Prayers

Some days, the words that exit Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s mouth are merely ridiculous, and we cringe, shake our heads, or laugh. Today, she revealed herself to be utterly revolting and immoral.

We, unfortunately, began our day with news of a terrorist attack in a New Zealand mosque. My heart goes out to the families impacted by this tragedy. Horrific occurrences like these make me sick for a number of reasons. I hate that people can be so evil to one another. I empathize with the victim’s families, and I’m saddened by the repercussions of the loss. Sandy Hook happened near Christmas, so thinking about parents and siblings being without their children was especially hard, and I can’t imagine actually being in the family’s shoes.

I also think we don’t handle these tragedies well. As soon as they happen, the media blasts the shooter’s name and they achieve the fame they craved, and it psychologically breeds more disturbed gunmen. I understand the need for people to be armed with information, but we have not achieved a proper balance yet. With technology and communication being so advanced, it only becomes more difficult.

People wait anxiously, hoping the gunman fits their narrative. As soon as it makes one side look bad, they play damage control or try to disprove it. Sometimes, it’s understandable. This most recent shooter posted a manifesto, and while many are encouraging others not to share or read it, many feel the need to see if left-leaning organizations like CNN are misrepresenting the shooter’s ideology for political gain.

We have a serious problem.

Gun control immediately becomes a topic of discussion. The NRA is demonized so much that gun owners that hate them buy memberships in protest of the Left. We can’t even have real conversations about how to prevent mass shootings, because we can barely see past our own agendas.

We can barely even tolerate being kind to one another anymore. “Thoughts and prayers” are now constantly pushed back on.

“Thoughts and prayers”, for some, is merely a kind phrase. It’s an offer of condolences. It’s a way of saying, “I’m thinking about you.” One of my sister’s closest friends is an atheist, and I said to her during a difficult time, “I’m vibing good thoughts your way,” and she appreciated it. Sometimes, people just need to know you care, and you never know how your words can impact someone else, especially when their world is falling apart.

Sometimes, the prayer is about helping the families. We go before our higher power and ask God to send comfort, because he certainly isn’t dropping off a time machine.

Ocasio-Cortez made a comment dissing prayer, because it “can’t even keep the pews safe”. Well, I think mocking the victims’ faith is a terrible thing for a congresswoman to do, but it also demonstrates an ignorance and disdain for the faith community. Ignorance, because she’s wrong. If I issued a challenge to Ocasio-Cortez stating that I would prove that prayer works vs her needing to prove the Green New Deal will save the human race, I would win easily.

But even with faith, you can’t always stop a tragedy. Jesus did not prepare his disciples for an easy road. He said they would be persecuted. Jesus Christ himself was crucified. Anyone who thinks faith is supposed to keep you in a protective bubble hasn’t studied and worships the god of their own troubled mind.

One thing the shooter wanted to do was cause division, and we keep rising to the occasion.

Nearly an hour later, Ocasio-Cortez attempted to clean up her comment by referencing the NRA and mocking their use of “thoughts and prayers” during a tragedy, but dissing the NRA after a shooting in New Zealand is disgustingly partisan and idiotic.

Prayer is about trying to connect yourself with a higher power—because you believe in something greater than yourself—and deepening your relationship with the one you worship. We do that because we believe that will make us better people.

I invite all believers to come together and pray for us to be better to one another, and I invite us all—whether you believe or not—to actively try to be better yourself. We can’t fight evil by being so vile to one another.

Even if you believe “thoughts and prayers” is a waste of time, being a hateful keyboard warrior certainly isn’t productive.