As a Marine recruit in basic training, we were ingrained with a sense of pride; we would become the latest generation of warriors known for being, as the Marine Corps Hymn states, “the first to fight for right and freedom.” This nation is also a first responder in times of tragedy and relief when disaster strikes around the world. Part of our legacy is that of philanthropy and the stewardship of good will.

In the global theater, we are often the first to dance.

Now, there is a homecoming, and we have become uncharacteristically meek.

In the latest of this year’s tragic shootings, 20 Connecticut elementary school children and 6 adults (as of this writing) were murdered by a young man armed with two pistols. Motive unclear and the shooter dead, the event marks another chapter in the growing madness and senseless carnage sweeping not only our country, but humanity itself.

Many have offered countless prayers and shed bitter tears, and yet the bloodshed continues – a relentless blight on our species that shows no mercy, or sign of abating.

Most tragic still, is the harrowing reality that these events are our very own shadow, our own nightmares and fears.

And that is why, in the darkest moment of our lives, we are often face-to-face with ourselves. In that moment, we have a choice that will transform us and the very fabric of our being: remain seated and meek, or rise and dance in the light.

In the book of Isaiah chapter 2, verse 4, it is written that “…They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.”

This verse is prefaced by the notion that this move toward absolute peace comes only after God passes judgement. We have a great deal to answer for when two of the most dangerous places in this country are schools and houses of worship. It’s time we admitted to our collective screw-up as a species and get on the solution before we drive ourselves to extinction. So I submit to the world, why wait on God’s judgement? Can we not pass sentence upon ourselves in light of the growing carnage and act now? We must stand, accountable to ourselves and one another for humanity’s crimes, and face the charges together.

We must ask ourselves: have we come so far, in all our amazing discoveries and achievements, only to fall so low? Is our species worthy of existence at all? If we view ourselves as such, why do our actions speak otherwise?

Many fear that once they step forward and beat their swords into plowshares, that others will maintain their arms and subjugate them. That may be so, but swords are not only sharpened lengths of steel, but thoughts, words, and actions as well. We are slaughtering ourselves in every conceivable way, and too few of us are willing to disarm and put an end to the slaughter of our own species.

When we withhold our weapons, we are in fact averse to peace. There will never be peace so long as we are armed for war, and those arms include every sharpened word, every poisonous thought, every plot of revenge, along with all the varieties forged by human hands.

This is not the world I want to bequeath to my daughters. This is not the world I want to leave behind. We cannot be meek when the lights come on; the music plays and we are called to dance. Now is our chance. There can be no mistake: if we do not reduce our swords to plowshares now and sow the seeds of peace, I fear that our children will only taste the rusted metal of our weapons, and there will be no harvest for the generation to come.