By John Bkila (NewsHooked) | Wednesday, March 20, 2019 at 7:30
Sir Isaac Newton’s Third Law of Motion states, “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”
The English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, theologian, and author is widely recognized as one of the most influential scientists who ever existed and was a key figure in the scientific revolution.
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is a key figure in another revolution – one where leaders of countries start reacting with opposite, but equal in strength responses to horrific acts of violence that hit home.
Last Friday’s (March 15) despicable mass shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, which killed 50 people and wounded dozens of others celebrating their faith through Islamic prayer, may have taken place in New Zealand, but the aftereffects have been felt globally.
A 28-year-old deranged lunatic from Australia has been charged with murder in connection with the attacks, and more charges are expected in the coming days, officials say, according to a CBC news article.
PM Ardern’s reaction to the whole ordeal has been what I always imagined real, kick-ass leadership looks like. You know, the kind that invariably brings people together in times of crisis and becomes a beacon of what humanity should always embody.
To start off, she has said her government is unified in making reforms to her country’s gun laws – and that’s just 72 hours after the attack.
“Within 10 days of this horrific act of terrorism we will have announced reforms which will, I believe, make our community safer,” Ardern said at a news conference.
But wait, didn’t she realize that offering just “thoughts and prayers” was enough… and that the days immediately following hate-motivated acts of gun violence aren’t the appropriate times to have such conversations about gun-law reform?
(UPDATE: New Zealand banned military-style semi-automatic and assault rifles under tough new gun laws on March 20 – six days after the terrorist attack.)
Her simply mentioning gun reform alone would’ve convinced me this woman is a role-model of what a leader of a country should be, but on Monday (March 18) she took things a step further; out of respect to those who were murdered, she mourned them at a vigil wearing a full hijab.
She also assured those who survived the dead that a provision available in New Zealand would be used, regardless of the immigration status of those who lost their lives or of their loved ones, to cover burial costs and support for lost income that “can last for not just months, but it can last for years.”
And finally, Ardern vowed yesterday (Tuesday, March 19) she would deny the accused gunman any notoriety by encouraging people to “speak the names of those who were lost, rather than the name of the man who took them.”
Āmīn, sister. Āmīn.
Featured top cropped photo “Lighthouse” by Joshua Hibbert on Unsplash
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