On Friday, Jerry Falwell, Jr. the president of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, stood up in front of the weekly student convocation and decided to make a statement regarding the shootings in San Bernardino, California, which left 14 people dead and dozens more injured. Falwell told the gathered students:
“I’ve always thought that if more good people had concealed-carry permits, then we could end those Muslims before they walked in and killed them.”
Falwell then issued what can only be termed a call to action for the student body:
“I just wanted to take this opportunity to encourage all of you to get your permit. We offer a free course. Let’s teach them a lesson if they ever show up here.”
Yes, by all means lets encourage more people to arm themselves since we don’t have nearly enough gun deaths a year in this country. Approximately 33,000 Americans have been killed by guns since 2013. Do we want to add more guns to that equation?
Kerstin Davies said her 9-year-old son, Rees, heard her reading Falwell’s comments to her husband, and:
“(He) got upset to the point of tears. He left the room and came back with this…letter. I wish everyone had his heart and his intelligence.”
Here’s the letter young Rees wrote and his mother shared on her Facebook page:
Yes, a child of just 9 years age had the wisdom and compassion to say what the president of a supposedly Christian university could not:
“This world is terrible. Racism and discrimination are corrupting it. We are brother and sister, not God and Devil. There is enough pain, suffering, and tormenting in this world. Why add to it? We must stop this now, and treat others like family. Let these problems stop this very moment, and let us be free!”
When I read those words, I get a lump in my throat. Young Rees Davies has said in just a few perfectly articulated words something that we have been taught since we were also children: the Golden Rule–Treat others as you want to be treated.
The world is too full of hate, too consumed with darkness. Rees Davies can teach us all a lesson, provided we are willing listen.
Are we?
This article was originally published by the same author at LiberalAmerica.org.