Emma Gonzalez gave the speech of her life. The senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas (MSD) High School, in Parkland, Florida, was passionate, articulate, and relevant as she addressed a rally in Fort Lauderdale, 3 days after 17 students and teachers were killed by a former student, armed with an AR-15 rifle. She nailed the nuance of the politics and called out the hypocrisy that is the inevitable companion of death when this uniquely American ritual, mass shooting, plays out yet again. Her speech has gone viral.
It was nearly 19 years ago when the world was introduced to the idea that a student could walk into a school with military-style weapons and kill 13 students and teachers. A New York Times [1] article describes the horror. The nation was stunned. Columbine was the paradigm-shifting event, the advent of the awareness of the reality of a mass school shooting.
Two and a half years later, the nation was stunned again, as two airplanes slammed into the World Trade Center's twin towers. 9/11 was the paradigm-shifting event, the advent of the awareness of the reality that an airplane could become a weapon of mass destruction.
We are now living in a world of Transportation Security Administration agents, shoes and belts in screening bins, and shampoo in 100-mL bottles.
Medscape Pediatrics © 2018 WebMD, LLC
Any views expressed above are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of WebMD or Medscape.
Cite this: Can Teenagers Solve Our Nation's Most Intractable Problem? - Medscape - Feb 23, 2018.
COMMENTARY
Can Teenagers Solve Our Nation's Most Intractable Problem?
Teenagers Advocate for Themselves, and the Country
L. Gregory Lawton, MD
DisclosuresFebruary 23, 2018
Emma Gonzalez gave the speech of her life. The senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas (MSD) High School, in Parkland, Florida, was passionate, articulate, and relevant as she addressed a rally in Fort Lauderdale, 3 days after 17 students and teachers were killed by a former student, armed with an AR-15 rifle. She nailed the nuance of the politics and called out the hypocrisy that is the inevitable companion of death when this uniquely American ritual, mass shooting, plays out yet again. Her speech has gone viral.
It was nearly 19 years ago when the world was introduced to the idea that a student could walk into a school with military-style weapons and kill 13 students and teachers. A New York Times [1] article describes the horror. The nation was stunned. Columbine was the paradigm-shifting event, the advent of the awareness of the reality of a mass school shooting.
Two and a half years later, the nation was stunned again, as two airplanes slammed into the World Trade Center's twin towers. 9/11 was the paradigm-shifting event, the advent of the awareness of the reality that an airplane could become a weapon of mass destruction.
We are now living in a world of Transportation Security Administration agents, shoes and belts in screening bins, and shampoo in 100-mL bottles.
Medscape Pediatrics © 2018 WebMD, LLC
Any views expressed above are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of WebMD or Medscape.
Cite this: Can Teenagers Solve Our Nation's Most Intractable Problem? - Medscape - Feb 23, 2018.
Tables
References
Authors and Disclosures
Authors and Disclosures
Author
L. Gregory Lawton, MD
Pediatrician, CHOP Primary Care, HighPoint, Chalfont, Pennsylvania
Disclosure: L. Gregory Lawton, MD, has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.