Very Sad...

This was my feeling over the weekend as I was watching news footage from Arizona over the shooting and killing of 6 people at a grocery store. It seems as though things like this always happen far away, but still hits you in the heart. I watched the coverage and was dumbfounded. It was not a campaign rally. It was a mock meeting at a grocery store. As it stands six are dead including a nine year old girl. She was born on September 11th, 2011, and then died like this 9 years later. And her grand father was a World series winning manager of the Philadelphia Phillies. Bizarre coincidences that make the story even more chilling.

The part I find particularly unnerving is America's search to place blame. When something terrible happens we as a people need some justification to make us feel better. It must be violent movies, or heavy metal music, or the Grand Theft Auto game, they will say. Those that fall far to each political side will blame each other. And yes, I realize that finding blame brings some sort of closure. But in instances like this, finger pointing and blaming is the worst possible thing you can do. Trying to find blame only gives, those deranged enough to commit an act like this, an out. I have no idea what strikes someone to commit such acts. Whether that be the shootings at Columbine or people who try to smuggle things on planes. It is impossible to pinpoint their motivation or so-called breaking point. But to place blame on a particular item is ridiculous and counter productive. Why don't we take a look at how we do things, and figure out how we can do good in the community? If we focused on that, at that elementary level, maybe we could nip things like this in the bud.

Right before posting this I finished reading a story about the Westboro Baptist Church of Kansas and their plans of picketing the funeral. You have probably heard of them doing things like this in the past. They picket funerals of soldiers from over seas, and funerals of open homosexuals who have died. And they essentially blame their deaths on America's loss of God in their life and this being his way to respond to us as a people. Well, come to find out the Arizona legislature has swung into action and actually made it a misdemeanor for anyone to picket within 300 feet of the funeral. Now I am all for freedom of assembly and freedom of speech, but a big thumbs up to the legislature for passing this. We as a country are grieving a senseless act of violence against over 30 individuals that have either died or are injured. Those 30 could have done great good for their community, and now we will never know for some. And it would have been an absolute atrocity for an outside group, regardless of belief, to hijack this remembrance.

Finally, both sides of the political spectrum have come together to create something good and actually useful. Hopefully, we can re-examine the way we do things in this country and put our best foot forward. Because trying to find blame just runs us in circles. And leaves us open to this kind of thing happening again.