So I have been looking for the right words to explain what I’m feeling about the events of this week. It really takes something as fucked up as the massacre at VA Tech to catch our attention sometimes. The distance of the hundreds that are dieing daily in Iraq or the thousands in the World Trade Center, seem as if they are too far removed to hold our attention. It seems like someone or something is always lurking in the wings willing to take our crazy little world of ours and slam it into our face and remind us just how fucked up things can get sometimes.
What are the right words to express all of our heart felt sympathies for those families and friends of the victims? I don’t have them. I can only hope that we can remember the victims lives and celebrate how they made the world a better place for those who loved them in the short time they graced this world.
In the wake of this tragedy, as can be expected, others have taken this event as an opportunity to express their misgivings. Nightly on the news the questions are posed. Who or what is to blame? How has our society come to this? Is this country becoming increasingly violent? The obvious question lies in the mind of what most be a crazy, lost, and afraid young man. I can’t explain how someone can come to that. That kind of emotion and helplessness is beyond my comprehension. It makes you wonder, “Is this world as cold and fucked up as it often seems?”
The cries are calling out now and blame is being dolled out without mercy on all sides. Gun control advocates sound their trumpet call. America’s obsession with guns is the problem. Less guns less death. The media and cultural avenues are being burned at the stake; our movies and music that glorify violence. The media itself is under the crosshairs for its portrayal of all the evil and shallow aspect of humanity. It is a free for all no one is safe from the fiery finger of justice in the after glow of such a horrible event.
I am here today to try and present my case. One I hope that will differ from most debates raging in homes and airwaves across America. I don’t have the answer that can change the world. I just present my simple view.
This story is one, in my mind, of beliefs, fear, and hate. The connection between these three items is rather fuzzy, at first, and I hope to bring them more closely in focus. I want to be careful as not to give any credence to what this monster did on April 16, 2007 -- there is none to give. I just want to explain what I see when I look upon this deplorable event. The most obvious thing we see is hate. A boy who was different and picked on lashed out in anger, unfortunately in the embodiment of ultra violence. Gandhi once said "The enemy is fear. We think it is hate; but, it is fear." Often we look at the actions of others and we see the immediate outward appearance of hate. Hate doesn’t begin with anger; hate has its root in fear. Gandhi expressed it best. Fear IS the enemy. It is our fear that causes us to lash out in uncontrollable ways. Whether our fear of failure, fear of loss, fear of being unloved. It matters not. That fear is what creates the anger. Where there is no fear, hate and other uncontrollable destructive emotions can not set root.
This leads me to beliefs. I think the problem in this world is that people hold on to beliefs so strongly they our willing to sacrifice everything to save face. I am not saying some beliefs aren’t worth sacrifice, love and kindness to all is a simple example. The easiest examples of destructive beliefs , and unfortunately the most vivid, are religious. We can look at the World Trade Center too see what blind faith can bring. We look at our own society and examples are unbelievably abundant. We differentiate ourselves from others. We see differences and choose to believe often our differences create superiority. I have the right amount of money, social standing, skin color, or religion. My belief is set. It is unwavering and any differences I choose to see as a threat to my way of life. Fear. That is the mood of our society. Our example is a kid with violent tendencies who believed he was superior to those that picked on him. He lumped all these people into a large category and struck out on his misguided revenge. Who he believed he was and his fear of others lead to this day.
I think that is what we should be talking about in the wake of this tragedy. We should take the time and examine our own lives. So maybe then we can begin to sweep away that fear we harbor. Erase any hate that may have grown in its presence. What beliefs do you hold that create an aura of superiority. What hate towards those who attempt to belittle us has grown. It’s not guns or the media. (They didn’t help.) Change doesn’t begin on a large scale without starting off small. It begins slowly within each and every individual. See where you can change. The rest can take care of itself. We can’t stop violence from ever happening but, maybe we can make a small difference to erase the hate that plagues America.
In closing it is amazing how tragic events bring us together. Support from all around the continent has gone out. All of us across America related to this story. It hit home. The stories of overwhelming support poured out. The strength demonstrated by the survivors of the aftermath. That is the story. The eulogies of those short lives have reached out. How those souls created beauty in their short time here on earth. The understanding how small relationships create unity and passion and meaning. That is the story here, not of some lost young boy. This is a story of the resilience of the human soul.
Take today and let someone you know; that you care. They have made a difference in your life. You never know when this wild ride called life will end.
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