Another tragic waste...

Yet again, we see another tragedy involving guns in the United States. This time, 27 innocent lives have been taken in the most horrific way, at an elementary school in Connecticut. Twenty of those killed are children, all aged between 5 and 10 years. My son is nearly 6. As a parent, my heart breaks as I try to imagine the overwhelming sense of grief and loss that the parents must be feeling at the moment. I know with some certainty that if anything happened to my son, I would not be able to live without him and I would shortly follow him.
Again, the gun law policies in the US are under the spotlight. Surely, enough is enough and this latest 'massacre' has to be a turning point. Restrictions simply have to be implemented on who can legally own and use a gun, of any description. There have to be age restrictions and a complete ban on anyone owning a firearm if they have suffered mental health problems. There is speculation that the perpetrator suffered mental illness. Here in the UK, people find an outlet for their illness by self-harming. In the US, a firearm provides an outlet that turns the effects of their illness onto others, in the most lethal of ways.
For as long as the gun laws in the US remain unchallenged and unchanged, we will continue to see incidents such as the one we have witnessed.
Yesterday we all saw a president wipe tears from his eyes. His words were sincere and the words of a parent. But he is in a unique position to prevent this from happening again. I really hope he does.

More Able...

There has been some talk in the past few days as to whether we now view disabled people differently as a result of the Paralympic Games and the extensive media coverage. Personally, I would say that this Paralympic Games has done more for disabled awareness than ever before. It would be wrong to suggest that there has been an increase in sympathy - and most disabled people would not wish for this - but there has been an enormous increase in understanding and a realisation that disability should not confine people to their homes. The people we have seen competing in the last couple of weeks have shown us all that disability should not be a barrier and that much can be achieved with determination and hard work.

I also think that young children are more aware, than any other generation before them, of how disability can affect people but more importantly how such disability can be overcome to achieve great things. An example is how my son has sat glued to much of the Paralympics TV coverage and questioned the things he has seen, taking huge interest in those competing and their physical differences. As a result, I am confident he has learnt more in the last two weeks than he would in all his years at school. The experience of the last two weeks has been to educate, raise awareness and instill a profound respect for all those taking part. We often refer to the athletes of the Paralympic Games as being 'disabled', but are they? Would you call a double amputee who wins a 1400 meter race disabled? I wouldn't - they are more able than anyone...

A Syrian Massacre

I've taken my time in deciding when to start this blog entry. I, like many millions of others, have been appalled and frankly sickened by the images that began appearing on the Internet following the latest massacre in Syria. I pretty much knew what to expect as I had seen many images from the Kosovo Crisis in the early 90s and I thought I was hardened enough to deal with the new evidence. I couldn't have been more wrong. The images were far worse than anything I had seen before, and my reaction was severe. On reflection, this is probably due to the fact that the images I saw from a shattered Yugloslavia were of charred remains, almost impossible to identify as being human. The images I've seen over the last few days are quite different. They are clearly identifiable. The young faces tell their ages to be under 10 years of age, and many under the age of 5. My son is 5 years of age. To think of the fear and terror these poor children suffered, it makes me feel physically sick. I look at my son and I cry to imagine what those poor souls have witnessed.
It would be all too easy to forget what has happened and I suspect that in a week from now, minds will be focused on other things such as the Jubilee celebrations and the run up to the Olympic Games.
Something must be done. Diplomacy has clearly failed and the harsh words and inaction by the UN give the Syrian regime and their supporters free license to continue murdering the innocent.
I chose to see the images and the videos. I wanted to see what had happened, what had really happened and not the stuff we are fed by our homegrown media. I wanted to see the raw footage taken by people who were really there, recorded for the most part on camera phones.
What I have seen has made me question my faith in a God. For it is difficult for me to understand how any God could possibly allow such horrors to occur, and to children so innocent and so beautiful. It is beyond humanity to imagine the fear these poor souls endured. This has to end and the Assad Regime must be brought to justice at the Hague. The time for talking is over.

Photo of the Day 17

This is a gift from my son for Christmas. It's a painting he created himself of Santa water-skiing. It's actually one of the most precious things I have and I will soon arrange for it to be framed properly and hung on the wall.

I'm still wrestling with the idea of contacting one of my past work colleagues and friends. I see they are now involved in running their own little business and if what I've read is to be believed, they are doing very well. I see that they run a blog and the fact that it's been updated recently tells me they are not affected by the economic downturn. Good for them! I always knew they'd end up doing well for themselves. But the dilemma is to whether or not I should make contact. Do they want to know about all my problems? Probably not. Perhaps I should just be content in the knowledge that no harm has come to them and that they're out there somewhere working hard and enjoying what they do.

I've booked myself an appointment for the 31st January for some CBT. I'm hoping it will help with my anxiety and worry issues. I'm pretty open minded to it all really and if it helps me to get where I want to be, then great. I copied this from Wikipedia to explain a little more about it;
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a psychotherapeutic approach: a talking therapy. CBT aims to solve problems concerning dysfunctional emotions, behaviours and cognitions through a goal-oriented, systematic procedure in the present. The title is used in diverse ways to designate behaviour therapy, cognitive therapy, and to refer to therapy based upon a combination of basic behavioural and cognitive research.
It does go on to get rather more technical, but I won't do that here. It's all there on wonderful Wikipedia.

 

A delicious little news item today. Parents have reacted strongly to the use of a new narrator for the children's TV programme Waybuloo. Parents have flooded parenting websites and Twitter with comments criticising the move claiming their children have been left confused and bewildered.
Personally I'm convinced that anyone capable of creating such a show must be under the influence of something pretty strong. If you've ever attempted to watch it, you'll know exactly what I mean.

Cold weather is on its way again we're being told. Any excuse for a roaring log fire here!