enough to set off a piranha-like feeding frenzy

Memo to Cheyenne high-school students: If you say the word “guns” you will drive some folks over the edge. That’s okay.

Discussions about ending the slaughter of school children and other human beings brings out the worst in some so-called adults. Florida students speaking out received deaths threats. Conspiracy theorists called them “actors.”

Delta Airlines is headquartered in Georgia. The company provides that state with thousands of high-paying jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in revenues. Yet, when Delta decided to be neutral on the gun issue and withdrew from a contract giving NRA members a discount on air travel, the Republicans in the state legislature threw a fit. They risked the economic benefit provided by Delta by avenging the company’s slight of the NRA by denying Delta a 50 million-dollar tax break.

Remember when the gun culture looked upon the 20 tiny bodies of bullet-ridden children at Sandy Hook and said it never happened, that it had been made up by gun control advocates?  

What Cheyenne school administrators, board members, and students are experiencing is no great surprise. Not-so-subtle death threats, adults organizing pro-gun counter demonstrations, denigrating young activists, and threatening social media posts are the modus operandi. The gun-culture adherents’ hair caught on fire before they knew whether there would even be a demonstration or what message the students wanted to send.

Simply mentioning “guns” was enough to set off a piranha-like feeding frenzy.

Cheyenne students are learning important civics lessons. First, the people who want to silence you don’t stop to think that it can happen here. You know it can. You are right. They are not. Consider this:

1. The term “gun culture” encompasses more than simply “gun ownership.” Many gun owners are rational people who understand the need for reasonable gun safety laws. Impressive majorities of voters own guns without becoming part of the “gun culture.”

2. When you speak out, you scare them. As you have learned, when people are scared, they sometimes become bullies.

3. Be confident that at this stage of your education, you know more about the history of this nation and the meaning of the U.S. Constitution than a frighteningly high percentage of those who are trying to muzzle you.

4. At this moment, you may be the only adults left in the room. Carpe diem.

5. In the book of Jeremiah, the Lord said, ‘Do not say ‘I am too young.” You’re not. Your voice is powerful. Use it.

6. Your parents and grandparents won’t solve the gun issue. They lack the commitment to truth necessary to listen to and hear one another and to discuss the issue honestly. It’s up to you.

7. The world to which your teachers have introduced you is a world where facts matter. The people trying to stop you from speaking out don’t live in that world. Likewise, your teachers have taught you a skill that many Americans lack; the ability to think critically, to analyze facts, and arrive at a rational opinion.

8. They don’t believe you will vote when you turn 18. In fact, they are betting on it and the statistics would make that a safe wager. Prove them wrong. Vote as if your future depends on it because it does.

9. They listen to people like Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Dana Loesch, and Alex Jones. Listen to yourself. Trust what you hear.

10. Your parents and grandparents settled for a political system unduly influenced by big money and a dysfunctional government unable to understand or solve problems. We allowed our political system to decay through our laziness. We watched as it morphed comfortably into blind partisanship. Don’t settle for that. The clock is ticking on your watch. Nothing less than our democracy is at stake.

One last word to students. You don’t need the blessing of the authorities to engage in civil disobedience. That’s why they call it “civil disobedience.” Do what you have to do, say what matters, and proudly accept the consequences.