‘C’ in C-Span stands for compassionate
During a brief tryst with boredom Sunday morning, I turned on the television to discover a surprisingly inspirational moment on C-Span.
Instead of tedious debates between congressmen and endless hours of talk about legislation, the President etc., there was a heartfelt testimony from Craig Scott, one of the survivors of the Columbine shooting and brother to Rachel Joy Scott, a victim of the incident.
During his powerful and beautiful speech, Scott found strength in his painful experiences to speak honestly and personally to the President of the United States during a summit on school violence. He first relived the horror of the day he lost his sister and witnessed one of the deadliest school shootings in America. He managed to survive by hiding under a table in the school library and by laying still, he was able to appear dead while two gunmen brutally murdered 13 of his classmates, including two of his friends right in front of him. His sister Rachel was not as lucky as him, however. She was the first victim of the shooting and her story of bravery has inspired people all over the world. Speaking from the heart, Craig Scott continued his testimony to the President and American public by advocating compassion over violence. He challenged educators, lawmakers and the American media to stop giving “band-aid answers” to school violence incidents like Columbine and to stand up and be the inspiration children need to stay on the right track.
Unlike his father Darrell Scott, who made a congressional testimony shortly after the incident criticizing laws that outlawed religion in school, he believed that allowing God back into school wasn’t exactly the answer. He said that school programs with the purpose of forming good character are the solution, if not the prevention, of school violence. Scott is currently part of a program called Rachel’s Challenge, in honor of his sister, which aims to reach out to troubled children and teens who are desperately crying out for attention.
Scott’s heartfelt speech stunned the audience of law enforcement officials and educators, who were there to discuss ways to decrease the possibility of another school violence occurrence. His testimony left the President nearly speechless.
“The main thing I have learned is that kindness and compassion can be the biggest antidote,” said Scott at the end of his testimony. “Take my words to heart today; they were bought at a high price.”