« Another Weekend | Home | What Track? »
The World in Which We Live…
By Administrator | April 20, 2007
…is no more or less violent than in the past, as my hubby is fond of saying. Life is going on for most people in pretty much the same manner as it did for their ancestors. Our ever-increasing population just raises the statistical probability of certain physical and emotional traits and our ever-increasing media coverage loves to sensationalize the people who experience those traits. So-called “normal” people are too boring to catch the attention of the public while stories of mayhem and titillating behavior are the ones we tend to gravitate toward. Just look through your local paper and compare the size of the article about the person in your community who’s creating a new charity to the one on the front page denouncing the behavior of a local public official; I’m sure you’ll find the more negative article gets more space and a better location.
With that said, I want to express my condolences and support to the loved ones of those people involved in horrifying situations of the past few weeks: the Virginia Tech shootings, the Johnson Space Center murder/suicide, and the murder/suicide that occurred in my own home community (as well as the violent crimes that occur on a regular basis in most communities). These stories remind us all of the fragility of life and the tentative control some of us have over our baser emotions. They should also remind us of the importance of living life to the fullest and of being more kind to our fellow humans.
While I don’t have an easy answer to help prevent such acts of horrifying violence, I do believe we might help lessen the chances of a person on the edge snapping by treating everyone with equal kindness and compassion. We’ve probably all experienced a situation where we felt so alone and miserable that everything seemed hopeless - and I think people with psychological issues may snap at a comment or experience most of us would ignore.
If we could avoid another Virginia Tech by backing off from a confrontation over something trivial, wouldn’t that be worth the extra effort of controlling our own anger or irritation? Think about that the next time you find yourself fighting over a parking space or yelling at that poor store clerk.
Topics: Current Events |
