Eight-year-old Martin Richards, killed during the Boston Marathon, created this poster a little over a year earlier, after the Trayvon Martin murder, a crime that still has not been dealt with properly. And let’s stop kidding each other about why justice has yet been met out: because of the color of Trayvon’s skin.

Martin was saddened by a boy near his age being gunned down by a vigilante, and he didn’t care about Trayvon’s color. He had so much love and empathy that he was moved to share his message with others. What an example of the content of this young boy’s character.

All our elected officials, all those who would spread fear rather than truth, there’s much to learn from Martin, even in his death. How about generosity of spirit to those you don’t know anything about? How about genuine compassion for every senseless act? How about your obligations to truth and transparency?

Please stop pushing your prejudice agendas. In the face of a country that has already lost so much, we expect you to help stop the bleeding in places we should be able to control, like sensible legislation, compromise, truth-telling.

Please show the humanity woven into the faith you espouse and the responsibility you swore to uphold to US citizens when you took an oath to represent us. An 8-year-old Martin Richard had no problem getting to the heart of the issue after the irresponsible and senseless Feb., 2012 murder of another young boy. Will the madness of the adults surrounding him ever end?

No more hurting people. Peace.