Talking about the United States and its policies during civil rights former President Jimmy Carter once remarked that “once that change was made, a very simple but difficult change, no one in his right mind would want to go back to circumstances prior to that juncture in the development of our nation’s society”.
It was one of the greatest lines uttered by a president because it spoke volumes of this country’s unwillingness to change because we as a nation sometimes become complacent with things that are commonplace.
But Carter was right. When we as a nation muster enough courage to change because the change is good and beneficial to society as a whole we look back and can’t remember what it was like to live in a nation prior to that change.
Mayor Thomas Menino and a group of 1,000 other mayors are trying to make a change in the nation regarding guns and reform the minds of some in the nation unwilling to reform the laws here.
“Earlier this week, I asked the City of Boston to stand with us on guns and say enough is enough,” said Menino. “As Mayors, we have a responsibility to our residents to do all we can to make our neighborhoods safer. Today, we’re calling on every community in Massachusetts to stand with us. We must keep the pressure on Congress to take swift action.”
Menino and his colleagues across the land are fighting for legislation requires background checks for every gun sale in America. But he also urged Mayors and their constituents to expand their reach: “Call your aunt in Florida; call your college roommate in Texas; call your old neighbor who moved to Vermont. Tell them we need them to stand with us and demand a plan from their members of Congress.”
Change is hard but unless we are willing to look forward and begin the process of renewing our commitment to bettering society as a whole it’s impossible.
Menino and the other mayors from across the country have embarked on a long journey.
Civil Rights, Women’s Suffrage, Emancipation did not happen overnight, but when the change was made we can all agree that no wants to go back to circumstances prior to that juncture.