Every life is important to me. I do not see one person as being more worthy to exist than another. I would call myself a gentle soul who cringes at the thought of violence. I despise the American gun culture that somehow makes it so easy for individuals to get their hands on dangerous weapons and then carry out horrific plans to kill others. I have long believed that there is a kind of sickness in the world that all too often ends in the tragedy of murder or assassination. 

I know that our national propensity toward creating dangerous shooters is a complex problem that will not be solved by quick fixes. The answer to gun violence is not to arm more people nor is it to build moats and impenetrable locks. It begins with how we raise our children, what values we teach them to seek, how we model the proper treatment of others. Of course I also fully understand that even in the best of circumstances a kind of darkness can invade people’s minds and lead them to evil acts of desperation. 

I do not bless violence of any kind whether it be verbal or physical abuse. I grieve each time someone decides to take the life of another to assuage the demons that they see or imagine in our society. All too often the perpetrators of such horrors are young men of varying intellect, personality and background. The only common link between them seems to be anger and a misguided belief that somehow they are sending an important message to our society. Each time one of them kills another I fret and feel an oppressive sorrow for the loss of innocents as well as the waste of what might have been more positive lives for the killers. I somehow feel the incredible pain of the families of the victims as well as the horror and shame of the families of the murderers. Such tragedies leave nothing good behind. 

The latest sensational killing occurred when a young man of seeming intelligence and means decided to assassinate the CEO of United Healthcare. Evidence indicates that the suspect saw himself as a kind of modern day hero willing to take a stand against insurance company practices that sometimes have a negative impact on the lives of innocent people. In a manifesto he proclaimed his belief that passive resistance and peaceful attempts to solve such problems never really work. Instead using the Unabomber as an example he proclaimed that the only way to draw enough attention to a problem is with violence done in the name of good. 

While I agree that the healthcare insurance in our country is a major problem for everyone but the very rich, I will never under any circumstances condone killing. Those who are cheering this young man as a kind of modern day Robin Hood or hero are wrong, just as holding up Kyle Rittenhouse as a hero after he killed and maimed individuals at a protest was also wrong. It saddens me that a young man with the kind of intellect that earned him the valedictory in high school and two degrees from an Ivy League university felt compelled to mindless murder rather than using his skills to peacefully bring attention to the problems of private insurance for our healthcare needs. 

I think of other young people who are bravely advocating for causes that are important to them.  David Hogg was a student at Parkland High School on the day that a mass shooter killed many of his classmates. From that day forward he has been a vocal opponent of the gun industry. He has since earned a college degree and established an organization dedicated to helping likeminded young people to gain access to local, state and national government positions. While his progress is slow it has not been totally ignored. He is legally using the system to attempt to make the legislative changes that will help to halt the easy proliferation of guns. 

Greta Thunberg has traveled the world challenging the leaders of all nations to take actions designed to halt the progress of climate change. At only twenty one years of age she has devoted her time and talents to advocating for the kind of everyday efforts each of us might make to forestall the impact of our rapidly changing climate. She has spoken before the United Nations and even garnered a nomination for a Nobel Peace Prize. She has even been honored as the Time magazine Person of the Year. All of this has been done without hurting anyone. 

A little over four years ago an armed mob stormed our nation’s capital hoping to overthrow the results of a legal and fair election. People were killed and injured on that day. Now as the man who egged the violators on is preparing to enter the White House. These traitors are being lauded as the real patriots in our country. In the meantime the president elect is fueling anger with threats to try and imprison those who investigated the causes of the terrible January 6 event that threatened our very democracy. Such a perversion of the reality of violent acts only begets more violent acts like the recent murder. We must do better than this by condemning any acts of illegal aggression that harm people.

Today we have two children who will grow up without their father. I know a bit about that and it is tragic. While we may not agree with the tactics that this man used as CEO of United Healthcare he did not need to die. At the same time we have a young man whose hubris led him to believe that murdering another human was necessary to shine a light on a major problem. In donning the aspects of a terrorist he threw away another’s life as well as his own. Such a manner of dealing with a problem is always wrong and he proved himself to be a maniacal coward rather than than a hero. I shed tears for the horrific waste of it all and hope that our leaders will not perpetuate such actions by condoning any kind of violence no matter the reasoning behind it.