VOL. 18 NO. 2-JANUARY 23, 2023
Life with Martin and Ralph
Our Stories and Features
COLUMNISTS
Reflections/Jonathan Gramling
Make the Nightmare Stop
One of the most impactful plays that I saw in high school was “Rhinoceros,” a post-World War II play by the French playwright Eugene Ionesco. It was part of the movement called Theater of the Absurd and on its face, it was absurd. One by one, the people in a small town turn into rhinoceroses. While the play was absurd, it was also very deep as it served as a commentary on how Nazism spread amongst we-meaning, everyday people. One by one, it changed people into unfeeling animals.
And I can’t help but think of this play in terms of how gun violence seems to be soaring in the United States as more and more people, in desperation or delusion, turn to gun violence, often times destroying the lives of innocent people before they turn their gun on themselves. According to CNN, American is on pace to set another dubious record in terms of the number of mass shootings. As of this writing — it’s only January 26th — there have already been 40 mass shootings in the United States. --READ MORE