Dear Walt

O Me! O Life! (2024)

O me! O life! of the questions of these repeating,
Of the endless feeds of data, the rivers of information flowing,
Of the cities pulsing with wireless signals, unseen and ever-present,
Of the billions connected yet alone, faces lit by screens in the dark,
Of algorithms shaping thoughts, of truth and fiction intertwined,
Of the constant noise drowning out the whispers of thought.

O me! O life! of the struggles in this digital age,
The race against obsolescence, the fear of being left behind,
Of privacy eroded,
Of identities fragmented across platforms,
Of the earth warming while we scroll,
Of forests falling as we swipe.

What purpose serves this life, this digital existence?

Answer.
That you are here—that consciousness persists amid the chaos,
That life continues to unfold in pixels and in flesh,
That amid the torrents of data, your unique voice remains,
That you have the power to disconnect, to reconnect with the tangible,
To write your own code in the vast program of existence.

Enough.

38 school shootings this year. 38 times our children have faced terror in what should be their safest space. And we’re only in September.

Today’s tragedy at Apalachee High School isn’t just another statistic. It’s four young lives extinguished. It’s countless families shattered. It’s a community forever scarred. And it’s a glaring reminder of our collective failure to protect our most vulnerable.

This is not normal. This is not acceptable. This is a national emergency.

Every day we delay action, we risk more lives. The facts are stark and undeniable:

  • Gun violence is now the leading cause of death for American children and teens
  • Since 2020, more children have died from guns than from car accidents
  • In the time it takes to read this article, another child will be shot in America

Yet, in the face of this carnage, what do we see? Inaction. Excuses. Political paralysis.

Enough.

We don’t lack solutions. We lack the will to implement them:

  1. Universal background checks – supported by 90% of Americans
  2. Red flag laws – proven to reduce gun suicides by up to 14%
  3. Assault weapons ban – could reduce mass shooting fatalities by 70%
  4. Increased funding for mental health and violence prevention programs

These aren’t radical ideas. They’re common-sense measures that could save countless lives. Lives like the four we just lost in Georgia. Lives that could be your child, your sibling, your friend.

To those who oppose these measures, I ask: How many more children must die before you act? How many more parents must bury their kids? How many more schools must become crime scenes?

This is not about politics. This is about survival. This is about whether we, as a nation, value our children’s lives more than we value unfettered access to firearms.

The 2024 election is our chance – perhaps our last chance – to demand real change. We need leaders who will prioritize our children’s lives over political expediency. Leaders who will stand up to the gun lobby — and those who support them — and say:

No more.