The March for Our Lives was attended by over a 1000 people in our local community. The march of the 17 coffins by the youth was touching and reverent. The youth speeches were well-written and each one spoke to a different perspective of gun control. Our march was coordinated by a freshman at Rutgers Camden. She conducted herself with dignity and responsibility. To be so young and so strong in conviction, shed a perspective on the meaning of this march and what is our future. Yes, this March for Our Lives was Emotional Intelligence in Action.
I was surprised to see so many baby boomers attending, in-fact, they outnumbered the youth. The comments I heard around me were mirroring my feelings though I hadn’t put words yet for my need to join this movement. They were speaking of how our generation has not stepped up to the plate and that we owed these youths our knowledge and support. We participated in marches against Vietnam and the Civil Rights Movement. We were well-acquainted with sit-ins and demonstrations voicing our objection to our governments actions. We have allowed too many shootings. I was working in a high school during Columbine. We had so many lock downs and days spent out in the parking lot. The guard and dog that put in place after this did not change anything except create more fear in our students. Sandy Hook happened on my birthday. How could we have allowed this to happen. As adults we have not kept our children safe.
The youth have now given us hope and now it is up to us to sustain it. One of the 7 attributes of EQ formulated by Daniel Goleman is the ability to sustain hope. We can only do this in connection and as a community. The hope we felt on Saturday comes from the recognition of what can be accomplished by our youth in such a short period of time. We all joined peacefully together to have a singular voice for gun control. It makes so much sense in its pure form and yet politics and money have taken control of this important need. We can overcome politics and money if we band together and vote our conscience and vote our new reality.
They say that hope burns eternal but that only happens when we come together as a community united for the purpose of making our children’s lives safer….safer physically and emotionally. This march had all the ingredients of emotional intelligence in action and at its best. We saw empathy, self-confidence, delay of gratification, soothing of strong emotions, accountability, hope, connection and gratefulness. What a breath of fresh air on this momentous Saturday. I am so glad I attended. It opened in me a new sense of commitment and re-awakened an old one. Together we can make it right again.