Similarly, in a recent piece for the Wall Street Journal, David Bashevkin writes, “Politicians must present real policy measures that will meaningfully address this crisis, but what’s gained by attacking their use of prayerful language? We don’t need a moratorium on prayer to stop school shootings.” In these “attacks on prayer,” Green writes, “any invocation of faith is taken as implicit advocacy of right-wing beliefs.” The widespread backlash against “thoughts and prayers,” though correct about the need for action, risks ignoring the fact that victims and their families often desire compassion and prayer, not just policy change. Writing for The Atlantic, Emma Green argues that the criticism of “thoughts and prayers” unfairly associates religious responses to mass shootings with conservative politics. The backlash against “thoughts and prayers” has been met with its own backlash. As Bible scholar Marcus Borg writes, "Compassion without justice can mean caring for victims while quietly acquiescing to a system that creates even more victims." But even among those who are sincere in their gestures of compassion, these gestures are inadequate if not accompanied by efforts to prevent future violence. More, perhaps, are on a sort of autopilot, carrying on the “routine” Obama described. Some political leaders who offer prayers are disingenuous, focusing more on their public persona than on grieving people. Coming from lawmakers whose policies help make school shootings overwhelmingly more common in the United States than in comparable nations, an offer of “thoughts and prayers” is not just hollow but despicable. These statements are ruthlessly mocked and memed, especially when the politician has voted against legislation that would significantly reduce gun violence. After a mass shooting, elected officials will issue public statements extending prayers and sympathy to those immediately affected. As this all-too-familiar routine plays out in the wake of the shooting in Uvalde, Texas, it is worth taking time to analyze the debate over “thoughts and prayers,” how little this debate has to do with actual thinking and praying, and what it shows us about the nature of moral reflection. Leaders offer their condolences and prayers the families of the victims, critics on social media retort that thoughts and prayers are insufficient or hypocritical when the one offering them opposes policies to address the problem, while others insist that such retorts politicize a tragedy or ignore the human dimension of the suffering. The language of “thoughts and prayers” plays an increasingly contentious role in this morbid routine. My response here at this podium ends up being routine. President Obama bemoaned this reality in 2015, saying, “Somehow this has become routine. Mass shootings should not happen frequently enough for us to have predictable responses. When there is a mass shooting in the United States, public discourse follows a familiar pattern. Martin Marty Center Dropdown for Martin Marty Center. Our Community Dropdown for Our Community.Research & Faculty Dropdown for Research & Faculty.Undergraduate Program in Religious Studies.Now after a snowball fight in university that went way-too far, I did see someones eyelashes frozen together. If the blood flow slows to the eyes, you might be too dazed to know it. If your body is becoming hypothermic, say 2☌ below normal body temp, your core will only circulate blood to the Policy and change not thoughts and prayers shirt moreover I love this core. Lastly, Your head is part of your bodies “Core”. Since your eyes are in your head, there is a lot of heat transfer to them. Third, your head/brain consumes alot of calories and demands a lot of blood. Policy and change not thoughts and prayers shirt, hoodie, tank top, sweater and long sleeve t-shirt I was witness to someone who got a small scratch on their eye and it bled quite a bit. Second, there is a surprising amount of blood flow to the eyes which carry with it heat. Note there are minimum temperature regulations for eyewash stations in most of Canada. The same will happen if you try to use a cold emergency eyewash. Your body will prevent them from getting cool let alone freezing and your eyelids will uncontrollably want to stay shut. If your eyes get “cold”, say 5–10☌, I speak from experience that you will experience the mother of all icecream headaches. Mask off scuba drill in the North Atlantic is a real test of character. I’ve also had to use an eyewash a few times. I live in a colder climate, scuba dive, and seen a couple minor eye injuries. If you have snowfall and the Policy and change not thoughts and prayers shirt moreover I love this weather remains cold, the snow will slowly disappear – it sublimates back into the atmosphere – leaving no puddles. Anyone who has lived in cold, snowy climates has seen this.
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