It was a tragedy. More than 30 people shot to death by a gunman. Mostly students, young people. Very sad. The nation mourns together, even if we didn't actually have children in that school, because of the magnitude of the horror. And as we pray for the families and authorities and friends and anyone else touched by this awful crime, it begins.
The second guessing is on. What did the administrators do wrong? How could they have acted more wisely? How did this guy get on campus? Why didn't anyone know about him? Why didn't the university act more swiftly to lock down the school? How was this guy able to get across campus and start shooting again some 2 hours after the first shots were fired? Maybe we need to get better security. Maybe we need to outlaw guns. And where was God in all this? How could He let something like this happen? It's a mess, and someone is to blame.
It doesn't take a big event for this second guessing to occur. A child drowns in a neighborhood pool and everyone is up in arms about lousy parents and poor pool security. A student is in a traffic accident during lunch break and they're passing laws closing the campuses, assigning blame to administrators and anyone else remotely related. An illegal alien is arrested and then, because of a paper foul up, is released back in his home country. He returns and kills someone. Who's to blame? The Attorney General? The judge? The police?
I guess sometimes I just think different than other people. I'm baffled as to why it is that we need to find scapegoats -- someone else to blame. Last time I heard there was a gunman. He chose to go in and shoot people. But for some reason everyone else is looking for someone else to blame. Those administrators should have anticipated, should have been prepared, should have done differently. Campus security was inadequate. See? It's the fault of the 2nd Amendment and the right to bear arms. For some reason we need to look beyond the actual cause -- a sociopath who decided to kill.
I am astounded that anyone would think that if we took all the proper measures, nothing bad would ever happen. No one says it, but it seems to be what they think. I've seen it in small ways and large ways. An accident occurs, so doing anything remotely like what caused that accident is banned. A crime occurs and steps are taken so no one can ever possibly consider doing anything like it again. Oddly, it never works. Accidents happen. Crimes occur. Things go wrong.
I am surprised that anyone would think that the authorities -- either law enforcement or campus staff -- would be prepared for just such an emergency. We've all heard "Hindsight is 20-20." Well, I'm pretty sure that just about everyone knew better how to handle these events than those people did. At least, to hear them talk they do. But no one is ready for a lone gunman who walks onto a peaceful campus for no apparent reason with no apparent hints and opens fire at no one is quite sure who. It's not something you can prepare yourself for any more than when zealots steal airplanes and fly them into buildings. No one can be prepared for that.
I am puzzled that people would think that there are steps we can take to prevent this. Events like this never happen. Well, almost never. Obviously. Or it wouldn't be news. It wouldn't occupy all the news air. This is an extraordinary event. Now, I would say that if it were an ordinary event, then we would be sadly lacking somewhere. But it isn't. And it is simply not possible to live in a free society while removing all possible bad events. It can't be done. If you locked up every single person so that they didn't have any opportunity to harm another, sure enough a hurricane or an earthquake would come through and free them. Stuff happens. We should know that.
It is prudent to take reasonable steps to insure the safety of our loved ones. It is wise to have police to enforce the law, have plans to handle emergencies, have hospitals to treat people in the event of such an occurrence. But somewhere along the way we need to stop pointing fingers at the remotest possible people to blame and realize that in a free society things will happen that are unpleasant. Your view of that God whom we question every time will likely determine your response. Did He have a plan in this or are we to blame for everything? Pointing fingers does little good. We try to make ourselves feel better, like we're doing something about it, but the truth is that life is full of unpleasant events. Only in a wise God who is actually Sovereign can we find comfort when the sorrowful circumstances of life that are sure to come cross our paths. Maybe we need to look there instead.
3 comments:
Wisely stated.
Something should be said for the dubious desire in our nation to send your most precious possession off to an encapsulated world where God is not mentioned anywhere in the so-called Principles of Community. [I know that's another post.]
Where does inherent dignity and value of every person come from? How do we know what that value is? Who has paid the price for it? Oh, I know that one.
I am praying for the staff and residents of the campus and their families that they will find peace even in these horrible days and months they have ahead. Therefore, I pray that they will seek God in these long hours, and that He grasps them. That is our only hope.
A superlative article.
True, Jim. Interesting to me is how many times people find themselves face to face with God only after times of real difficulty. I pray that this moment of real difficulty will awaken some to the place of the only real comfort available -- the Father's arms.
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