WHY WASN'T THIS ON THE NEWS?
On Thursday, May 27, 1999, Darrell Scott,
the father of Rachel Scott,a
victim of the Columbine High School shootings in
Littleton, Colorado, was
invited to address the House Judiciary
Committee's subcommittee.
What he said to our national leaders during
this special session of
Congress was painfully truthful. They were not
prepared for what he was to
say, nor was it received well. It needs to be
heard by every parent, every
teacher, every politician, every sociologist,
every psychologist, and every so-called expert.
These courageous words spoken by Darrell
Scott are powerful,
penetrating,and deeply personal. There is no doubt that God
sent this man as a voice
crying in the wilderness.
The following is a portion of the
transcript:
"Since the dawn of creation there has been
both good and evil in the
hearts of men and women. We all contain the seeds of kindness or the seeds of violence. The death of my wonderful daughter,
Rachel Joy Scott, and the
deaths of that heroic teacher, and the other
eleven children who died must
not be in vain. Their blood cries out for
answers.
"The first recorded act of violence was when
Cain slew his brother Abel out in the field. The villain was not the club he used. Neither was it the
NCA, the National Club Association. The true
killer was Cain, and the reason for the murder could only be found in Cain's heart.
"In the days that followed the Columbine
tragedy, I was amazed at how
quickly fingers began to be pointed at groups
such as the NRA. I am not a member of the NRA. I am not a hunter. I do not even own a gun. I am not here to represent or defend the NRA - because I don't believe that they are
responsible for my daughter's death.
Therefore I do not believe that they need to
be defended. If I believed they had anything to do with Rachel's murder I would be their strongest opponent. "I am here today to declare that Columbine was not just a tragedy;
it was a spiritual event that should be forcing
us to look at where the real blame lies! Much of the blame lies here in this
room. Much of the blame lies
behind the pointing fingers of the accusers
themselves."
"I wrote a poem just four nights ago that
expresses my feelings best.
This was written way before I knew I would be
speaking here today.
"Your laws ignore our deepest needs,
Your words are empty air.
You've stripped away our heritage,
You've outlawed simple prayer.
Now gunshots fill our classrooms, And
precious children die.
You seek for answers everywhere, And ask
the question, 'Why?'
You regulate restrictive laws, Through
legislative creed.
And yet you fail to understand, That God is what we need!
"Men and women are three part beings. We all
consist of body, soul, and spirit. When we refuse to acknowledge a third
part of our makeup, we create a
void that allows evil, prejudice, and hatred to
rush in and reek havoc.
Spiritual influences were present within our
educational systems for most of
our nation's history. Many of our major colleges
began as theological
seminaries. This is a historical fact.
What has happened to us as a nation? We
have refused to honor God, and
in so doing, we open the doors to hatred and
violence. And when something as terrible as Columbine's tragedy occurs politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the NRA.
They immediately seek to pass more
restrictive laws that contribute to e