![]() ![]() The backlash against “thoughts and prayers” has been met with its own backlash. As Bible scholar Marcus Borg writes, "Compassion without justice can mean caring for victims while quietly acquiescing to a system that creates even more victims." But even among those who are sincere in their gestures of compassion, these gestures are inadequate if not accompanied by efforts to prevent future violence. ![]() More, perhaps, are on a sort of autopilot, carrying on the “routine” Obama described. Some political leaders who offer prayers are disingenuous, focusing more on their public persona than on grieving people. Coming from lawmakers whose policies help make school shootings overwhelmingly more common in the United States than in comparable nations, an offer of “thoughts and prayers” is not just hollow but despicable. These statements are ruthlessly mocked and memed, especially when the politician has voted against legislation that would significantly reduce gun violence. After a mass shooting, elected officials will issue public statements extending prayers and sympathy to those immediately affected. As this all-too-familiar routine plays out in the wake of the shooting in Uvalde, Texas, it is worth taking time to analyze the debate over “thoughts and prayers,” how little this debate has to do with actual thinking and praying, and what it shows us about the nature of moral reflection. Leaders offer their condolences and prayers the families of the victims, critics on social media retort that thoughts and prayers are insufficient or hypocritical when the one offering them opposes policies to address the problem, while others insist that such retorts politicize a tragedy or ignore the human dimension of the suffering. The language of “thoughts and prayers” plays an increasingly contentious role in this morbid routine. ![]() My response here at this podium ends up being routine. President Obama bemoaned this reality in 2015, saying, “Somehow this has become routine. Mass shootings should not happen frequently enough for us to have predictable responses. When there is a mass shooting in the United States, public discourse follows a familiar pattern. Martin Marty Center Dropdown for Martin Marty Center.Our Community Dropdown for Our Community.Research & Faculty Dropdown for Research & Faculty.Undergraduate Program in Religious Studies. ![]()
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