Thoughts and Prayers.

Thoughts and prayers is a common, overused expression used to offer sympathy and support to those affected by a tragedy, especially regurgitated by politicians.

What an empty platitude. This trite phrase is always offered up by weak politicians after mass shootings without accompanying concrete actions to address the issue.

I was not going to post today. I felt that most are gearing up for the final long holiday weekend in America.

These are not joyous times so a long weekend without news is much needed.

I could not help myself.

I was up all night emotionally overwhelmed by the state of this country. Another mass shooting sent me over the top.

Children gathered this week for the start of a new school year, students brimming with anticipation gathered for Mass to begin the school year with a prayer for hope.

Instead, stained-glass windows shattered under gunfire. Two children, Fletcher, 8, and Harper, 10, were killed. Eighteen others, kids and grandparents alike, were wounded in a place of worship within a school once considered a sanctuary.

The shooter didn’t stumble in with chaos. He came armed, barricaded the doors and sprayed bullets into a place built for safety. On his guns were inscribed hate. Antisemitic slurs. Celebrations of past killers. He was radicalized, equipped and enabled.

And now, parents bury their children while politicians send condolences. Vigils bloom, candles burn, but every mother and father in Minneapolis knows the truth that casseroles and prayers don’t stop bullets.

We’ve seen this movie too many times. Thoughts and prayers, followed by silence. Leaders wring their hands while kids practice lockdown drills. We ask why an AR-15 is easier to buy than mental health care and we get excuses instead of laws.

This wasn’t just a tragedy. It was preventable and if we let this fade into another headline, we will prove, yet again, that we care more about preserving access to weapons of war than about preserving our children’s lives.

The question every parent is asking, every child is whispering, is simple. Will it happen again? Unless we demand more than mourning, the answer is already yes.

No more silence. No more excuses. Demand a ban on assault weapons. Demand background checks that actually mean something. Demand that hate speech tied to violence be treated as a threat, not dismissed as free expression. Mothers and fathers, everyone, damn it, are the ones who must draw the line.

If we don’t, we are not just failing our children. We are willingly sending them back into sanctuaries that could turn into cages.

That is unforgivable. I cannot imagine having a child in school today. I personally could not deal with the anxiety.

Wake up America. We have seat belts to protect lives in cars, but absolutely nothing to protect innocent children in school. Hiding under a desk does not prevent death from a maniac with a gun.