When Tragedy Strikes

What do we do when tragedy strikes? What do we do when it hits close to home? What about when it impacts our very own family and friends? What about when our community is thrust into chaos because of the actions of someone unruly or evil?

Our tendency in these times is to find the biggest target we can find and throw blame at it. We want to find someone to hold accountable and it’s far easier to blame the biggest person, organization or group in the room. While this may be the easiest in the moment, it’s not generally the most effective method. And it will not bring the results we want.

Yesterday another senseless act of violence took the lives of innocent children and adults. It’s tragic to say the least. I hear of these things and want something to change. I want these to stop. I want children to be able to attend school without fear of something like this happening. I want teachers to be able to walk into schools with smiles on their faces and not a sense of apprehension in their minds about the safety of their room that day.

For some this will be an unpopular opinion, and for those of you who are offended by my thoughts, my intent is not to offend you. You have your thoughts and I have mine. You have the right to hit the little “x” or red dot and close this window and you’re welcome to do that.

Now for the unpopular opinion.

Blaming the wrong entity won’t help. Blaming the system, government, weapon of choice, school system, police force… none of that is going to make a bit of difference. Making more laws unfortunately won’t be of any real help either. How many bad guys read the law books to make sure it’s not going to break a law? Don’t believe me? Look at your own life for a minute.

There these little white rectangular signs on the side of the road. They are laws. Did you know that? Laws that state how fast are allowed to go in a given area. We call them speed limit signs. Now how many of you follow those suckers to the number? Do you push the limits at all? Maybe going 5 over? or 10? Drive the freeway and you’ll see it. Laws don’t stop people from doing what’s wrong. Or look at those red octagons. Ever roll through a stop? Yeah well that’s against the law too. Laws don’t make the problem go away. We just find another way.

I don’t want this to come across as insensitive at all. I am 100% against the violence. I am 100% against the evil actions around us. But I am also of the mindset that laws don’t stop stupid. They don’t stop mean. They don’t stop threats or violent acts. Rapists know it’s wrong but they still do it. Thieves know it’s wrong but they still steal. There are laws against all sorts of things but to prohibit something doesn’t stop someone from doing it.

So then what do we do?

The short answer is we need to change the way we think. Who’s to blame? The perpetrator. The villain. But more than that society is to blame. We all are to blame for the mess we’re in right now. When we can’t find a solid and consistent measure for right and wrong it should be no surprise when people will find their own measuring stick.

We live in a world that has taken right and wrong out of the equation because we don’t want to hurt or offend someone. We don’t want to “shove” our ideology down someone else’s throat so we don’t teach ethics anymore. There are not immovable standards in society. You have your truth and I have mine. That’s a sick and twisted society friends.

What do we do? We hold to some standard of truth. We hold to some form of right and wrong. For a couple of centuries this country had a pretty decent standard of how to function. From the Constitution to the Declaration of Independence to the other documents that were part of the founding of this nation, we had a real and easy to follow set of boundaries. For a time the nation used the essence of the Bible (not teaching the faith of the Bible but the boundaries it set) for a determination of right and wrong.

You may not agree with those documents. You may not like them. You may think they are old and potentially even a bit outdated. But they were foundational to who we are as a people.

How do we fix where we are? Be kind. It’s really that simple. Don’t be a jerk. Raise your kids to be kind. Not tolerant because tolerant doesn’t do anything. Kindness does. Go out of your way to do good to someone. If you’re the praying type spend some time in prayer. Dad’s be present with your families. Quit running away to pursue your own selfish lustful passions and be involved in your kids’ lives.

When tragedy strikes is the time we come together not throw crap at one another like a bunch of mindless monkeys. Stop slinging crap and start being kind and we might just see a change in our communities.