Yesterday was a very tragic day not only for the students, faculty, and families of Virginia Tech but for the nation and the world as a whole. 33 people dead, without warning and (as of yet) no known reason.
A consciousness of mortality sets us apart from other creatures. But how "conscious" are we really? Yesterday morning 32 people got up and got ready for their day, none of which I bet dwelled on the possibility that this would or even could be their last. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing ... Ignorance is bliss. It's just that sometimes fate's irony floors me.
Students who have worked hard, followed their passions and pursued their goals are now gone. People the gunman may or may not have known - his randomness suggesting luck of the draw. Today their families grieve their lost children with no available closure. Professors involved not only in passing their wisdom to their students but highly regarded researchers and engineers on the track of improving quality of life for countless people. What would they have become? How would they have changed the world, and how will we be burdened in their absence?
What snapped in that gunman's head? What recognition in the frightened faces would cause him to fire at some and pass over others? Was it the simple opportunity of clear shots, or something else?
I know there are no answers to these questions, but I think about them all the same.
There has been a lot of squawk since yesterday about what could have been done and what should have been done to prevent this from happening. Armed guards on school properties and college campuses, missed opportunites for intervention by school psychologists, and the ever popular cry for stricter gun control laws (nevermind that at least one of the two weapons used was bought by the gunman through completely legal channels and requirements, and you know what that means if they call for tightening control. Don't get me started.). I don't see how any of those actions will help. Unless you can put on a Zoltar turban and read the future, don't know how anything could be done. Atrocities just have a way of manifesting. There really is no one but the gunman to blame, which being that he's dead as well, is a hollow and unsatisfying conclusion.
But there sometimes are no answers. Sadly, such is the burden and dangers of living in a fallen world.
We are reminded to live each day with purpose.
Pray for the families and friends of the victims in the coming weeks. Their agony is incomprehensible.
8 comments:
Wonderfully said.
I would like to think that we, as an advanced people, would be so far beyond something like this even happening but it seems like it happens more and more frequently! Such a sad waste of lifes!
It was a sad day for the world. :(
It was a very sad day....it puts a lot of emphasis on why the ones you love should always know you love them.
Great post buddy...
The world is not fallen, dear friend, it's only that some people in it are either evil or broken.
Such a tragedy for all those involved.
I feel for all of them - and maybe even moreso for the gun men's family. Imagine the horror they must feel, knowing their child caused all of this -- and then dealing with the loss of their child as well.
So tragic.
I wonder how long it will be until we find some tangible clue between what happened in the killer's life and why he snapped. Thus far (aside from his media manifesto) we have few clews. It sucks.
Blake (formerly "The Everglades")
So true. The "why" will never be known.
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