What to some may seem like only yesterday, on October 01, 2017 a shooting massacre in Las Vegas took the lives of at least 59 and injured hundreds of others. And as many struggle to cope with, or strive to erase recall of, that horrific tragedy, we are provided with continuing evidence that truly despicable evil exists in the hearts and minds of some among us. Such as, the radical Islamic terrorist that used a truck to kill at least 8 and injure many others in New York City on October 31. And, more recently, the killer that used a gun to massacre at least 26 and wound some 20 others in a rural Texas church on November 5 (a tragedy that could have been worse had not a local resident been willing and able to use his personal gun to confront the killer). As truly terrible that these within-our-borders tragedies are, such are but a relative few of the countless carried out worldwide, past, present. And, no words can fittingly communicate the heinous nature of such barbaric assaults against humankind, nor relate the resulting pain, suffering, and other associated trauma.
Many among us strive and struggle to understand “why” anyone is capable of and chooses to carry out such unspeakable acts. Nonetheless, it just possibly might be a natural blessing that most of us continue to be frustrated by our failure to grasp such understanding. For, to truly understand such unspeakable behaviors would seem to require being able to make sense out of that which truly makes no sense. An understanding that might well ultimately require a heart and mind in dangerous likeness to those who harbor and carry out the very despicable evils that we are puzzled and threatened by. Hence, maybe a more realistic response to such evil would be to accept that it does exist; that some among us will attempt or succeed in carrying out acts of evil; and therefore take realistic steps to prevent and defend against such. Beginning with a discontinuance of efforts to disarm law abiding citizens and otherwise restrict our rights and ability to defend ourselves. And, by also ceasing to pretend that such acts of evil are harbored, planned, and executed by “things” (guns, knives, cars, trucks, aircraft, explosives, fertilizer, etc.), rather than by unhinged “people”.
Likewise, in realistically focusing on “evil’s reality” and “people behavior” versus “things”—possibly we, the mainstream media, and our government representatives and leaders, can soon, rather than too late, include a fitting level of responsible attention to our nation-wide and rapidly growing “addictive drugs” epidemic. For, “people” abusing opioids and other legal and illegal addictive drugs now represent the leading cause of injury related death in the United States. Exceeding injury related deaths from use of cars and guns. For example, since 2002, over 500,000 people in the U.S. have died from drug overdoses. An average of over 35,000 per year. About 1 drug overdose death every 15 minutes! And, it is a rapidly growing reality that someone in each of our respective families has been or will be touched by the devastation of drug abuse, dependency, and addiction. Or that our families know of someone who has, or likely will be!
—William James Moore
Many among us strive and struggle to understand “why” anyone is capable of and chooses to carry out such unspeakable acts. Nonetheless, it just possibly might be a natural blessing that most of us continue to be frustrated by our failure to grasp such understanding. For, to truly understand such unspeakable behaviors would seem to require being able to make sense out of that which truly makes no sense. An understanding that might well ultimately require a heart and mind in dangerous likeness to those who harbor and carry out the very despicable evils that we are puzzled and threatened by. Hence, maybe a more realistic response to such evil would be to accept that it does exist; that some among us will attempt or succeed in carrying out acts of evil; and therefore take realistic steps to prevent and defend against such. Beginning with a discontinuance of efforts to disarm law abiding citizens and otherwise restrict our rights and ability to defend ourselves. And, by also ceasing to pretend that such acts of evil are harbored, planned, and executed by “things” (guns, knives, cars, trucks, aircraft, explosives, fertilizer, etc.), rather than by unhinged “people”.
Likewise, in realistically focusing on “evil’s reality” and “people behavior” versus “things”—possibly we, the mainstream media, and our government representatives and leaders, can soon, rather than too late, include a fitting level of responsible attention to our nation-wide and rapidly growing “addictive drugs” epidemic. For, “people” abusing opioids and other legal and illegal addictive drugs now represent the leading cause of injury related death in the United States. Exceeding injury related deaths from use of cars and guns. For example, since 2002, over 500,000 people in the U.S. have died from drug overdoses. An average of over 35,000 per year. About 1 drug overdose death every 15 minutes! And, it is a rapidly growing reality that someone in each of our respective families has been or will be touched by the devastation of drug abuse, dependency, and addiction. Or that our families know of someone who has, or likely will be!
—William James Moore
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