A Sad, Sad Day ...

There's a great deal that still isn't known, such as who he was and why he felt compelled to kill in the first place. This morning I logged onto Yahoo.com and saw a news headline that said, "1 killed, 21 wounded at Virginia Tech." I clicked on the story and there the headline read, "21 killed and 21 more wounded in shooting." I thought to myself, "What a horrible misprint. Shame on you, Yahoo for turning 1 fatality into 21." And then to discover, through the course of the day that the death toll actually stood at 33!

Yes, I include the shooter in the count of victims for surely, anyone who possessed the rage, fear and hate needed to commit this horrendous act is a victim, at least in my eyes. If there is any time during a national tragedy such as this that can be considered the "best" time, this would be it. This is the time when grief is fresh and gripping and all encompassing and takes away all else. This is when the focus is on loss and love.

It won't be long before this "best" time will give way to a "worse" time. This is when the mourning makes room for anger and blaming. This is when those who have lost a loved one begin to feel guilty or look for someone on whom to assign guilt. We're a country that doesn't accept random acts as random. There must always be a reason why, someone who did something wrong, someone who didn't do something they should have done, a child who couldn't have died just because ... When there's no one to blame, we blame God and then return to blaming ourselves because it's wrong to blame God and the vicious circle of anger spirals into a spirit of vengeance. "FIX IT" our country screams. "MAKE US NOT BE AFRAID!" This then is the "worst" time following a national tragedy. It is the time when many are willing to give into their own fear and anger to insist that some kind of feigned security be instituted.

For now, during this "best" time I hope that those who ache with grief will find comfort in knowing that their loved one is with God tonight, in the light. No, now they are the light. Please, I pray, go toward the light. It's where love is and where we all ultimately want to be.

Peace.