It hurts my heart.
It frightens me.
I don’t know what to say, but that doesn’t seem to stop me from saying whatever pops into my head.
When some horrific thing like this* comes along, we react. We don’t always react well. We are heart-broken for the carnage, for the terror, for the fear, for the loss. We empathize with the victims and their families. We feel our own sense of safety and security slipping away. We wonder what our country is coming to. We try to make sense of it but how do you make sense of something so irrational? We grasp for straws – for explanations, for some kind of guarantee that it won’t happen again. We wish we could erase the act and go back to feeling safe and secure.
Sadness and sorrow get tangled up with anger and fear.
We react well – with compassion and wisdom.
We react poorly – with judgment and blame.
We react against those who react.
We blame with broad strokes.
We make generalized pronouncements.
We point fingers at those who try to make sense of it all.
We blame anyone who dares to point a finger in a different direction than we do.
We insult the intelligence of those who disagree with us.
We lash out at anyone who lashes out.
Why do we feel the need to speak with authority?
Why do we feel the need to campaign loudly for our position?
Why do we try to dictate how others should react?
Is it because we wish to regain a sense of control or stability or security?
Why do we let fear win over wisdom?
Why do we trade compassion for condemnation?
Why can we not have civil conversation about better ways to prevent such violence?
...
* Referring to the recent shooting spree in Aurora, CO
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