Do Better is an op-ed column by writer Lincoln Anthony Blades that debunks fallacies regarding the politics of race, culture, and society — because if we all knew better, we'd do better.

The shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14, in Parkland, Florida, which claimed 17 lives, is symptomatic of the plague of mass gun violence in the United States.

Students from Stoneman Douglas responded powerfully to the loss of life in displays of courage that exemplified what kids are capable of. These teens started a campaign online and off — #NeverAgain — after witnessing the slaughter of their friends and faculty, amid funerals, and while reckoning with their own mental, physical, and emotional wounds. In the days following the shooting, student-led, anti-gun rallies were organized and successfully carried out around the country. On February 17, Stoneman Douglas survivors held a rally in Fort Lauderdale. On February 20, over 100 teens from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School traveled to Tallahassee to rally and meet with lawmakers who — just prior to the students arriving — voted down a bill that would have banned semiautomatic guns and large-capacity magazines in the state. And on February 21, students from high schools in Broward and Miami-Dade counties walked out of their classrooms in protest to advocate for effective gun-law proposals. Some even participated in President Donald Trump's "listening session", during which survivors of the shooting told their stories and offered their ideas on policies that could prevent further tragedies. The #NeverAgain students have also planned a rally called March for Our Lives, which is scheduled for March 24 in Washington D.C., and in sister cities around the country.

The teens from Parkland who've volunteered to speak with reporters and in front of cameras have eloquently and pointedly stated why they believe gun control laws are needed. They've repeatedly taken on the National Rifle Association (NRA) directly.

The response to these students has included an extensive outpouring of love and support from many, including celebrities.

Even Oprah Winfrey announced her support and that she would be donating $500,000 to the March for Our Lives gun control rally, saying, "These inspiring young people remind me of the Freedom Riders of the ’60s, who also said we’ve had ENOUGH and our voices will be heard." Her donation matched a donation from George and Amal Clooney.