He offered prayers for the victims — and for government officials to finally act on this epidemic of gun violence.
On Monday’s episode of “The Late Show” on CBS, host Stephen Colbert found himself once again having to address a mass shooting in the United States. Following the murder of 26 people at a Sunday church service in Sutherland Springs, Texas, Colbert sought to offer more than just condolences and a message of grief in another of what seems to be a ceaseless string of violent gun attacks.
The host expressed both the heartbreak and frustration that millions of Americans feel in response to these all-too-common incidents, offering, “Everyone is heartbroken when this happens, and you want to do something, but nothing gets done.”
“No one does anything. And that seems insane, and it can make you feel hopeless. Now, I don’t know what to do,” he continued, “but I know that hopelessness is not the answer.”
Colbert ended the monologue with both his condolences and his fervent hope that the government finally enact tighter regulations to curtail gun violence.
“My thoughts are with the families and victims, and my prayers are for this country’s leaders to do something about this,” he concluded.
Even in the cordial world of late-night talk television shows, the trite issuance of “thoughts and prayers” rings both hollow and increasingly insincere as these horrific incidents continue unabated.
After all, hope without action is futile in preventing further tragedies like Las Vegas and Sutherland Springs.
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