If it seems as if I'm repeating a blog from July, it's because history is repeating itself again, too. The names are different; they're also alot younger, but the story remains pretty much the same. I have to admit that I was hit pretty hard by the events in Newton, Connecticut this past Friday. I don't think a news story has hit me this hard since 9-11. I don't think I'm alone either. Even our unflappable president choked up when he spoke to the nation. It wasn't President Obama, leader of the free world, I saw on TV, it was Barrack, the father of two young children.
As happened the last time a tragedy like this occurred, we heard an abundance of theories about why these things happen and how we can easily fix it. Maybe its just human nature. We like to feel as if we are in control of things. We don't like to feel vulnerable; we like to think that we can keep ourselves and our children safe.
Maybe we need more gun control or maybe, we need to expand conceal and carry. Folks, what happened Friday is the result of pure evil. As much as we'd like to think otherwise, we can't legislate away this evil, nor can we cowboy our way out of it. We once thought that we were safe in airplanes. There was no way anyone can get a gun past security. Eleven years ago, a Saudi construction heir showed what could be done with some equally evil fanatics and some box cutters. Some loser in Oklahoma used fertilizer.
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Maybe we have too much violence on TV or in video games. Maybe the wall between X-Box and reality is much thinner than we hoped. Years before violent movies and video games, a failed art student from Austria embarked on a trajectory of evil that the world still hasn't recovered from.
Maybe we need more police and more prisons. Maybe we need to execute more violent offenders. Maybe we need better mental health facilities. Maybe we could "fix" people before they go off the deep end. I agree that once it is determined that someone is capable of the kind of evil we saw on Friday, they should be locked up, or worse. But how do we know what someone can do? We can't just lock up people who are quiet and keep to themselves.
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Those of us who write about politics like to think we have it all figured out; that the world's problems would disappear if they just took my advice. I wish I had the answers. I hope and pray that the day will come when this kind of evil no longer permeates out society. Until then, be vigilant and appreciate each day and those who are a part of it.
