Violence is Never Ok

The news of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords attempted assassination has been flying around all over the inter-webs. I usually don't concern myself with politics, but it's hard to ignore something of this magnitude that no doubt has cause worldwide ripples. The true tragedy of the whole thing is the six people who were innocent bystanders that were killed, including a 9 year old child. The shooter, Jared Lee Loughner, is to have shot at her due to the answer to a nihilistic question that he had asked her 3 years ago, though they are not exactly sure if that was the motivation behind his attack. What ever it was, there was a difference in the belief difference wide enough that Mr. Loughner deemed wide enough to warrant the use of extreme measures.

The world in which we live is made of a myriad of people, and as numerous as the people are, so are their beliefs. No two people share the exact same beliefs. You may meet people who believe many of the same things that you believe but you can never assure that they would agree with you 100% of the time. Now, usually this differences in belief are so small that we don't recognize them. However, there are those wide enough to cause conflict. There are times when people see it fit to insult and trample upon the things we hold dear or promote the very things that we are against. It hurts and pains us so badly that it seems as if we have no choice but to strike out and stop them. Well here's some advice for the next time you feel like that: Don't do it. No matter what the difference in belief is, lashing out never solves anything and invariably makes the situation worse.

Take Mr. Loughner for example. Let's say, for the sake of argument that he had some really good points in what he believed that could lead to a better tomorrow. He could have started group discussions at school. He could have written a book or a manifesto of some sort. He could have made himself heard through more traditional and legal channels and before he knew it, gathered as following and been able to tell the world what he needed to say. But does any of that matter now? No. Because every time someone hears his name, they won't think about the idea he had or how he could have impacted the world. They'd think about the life of an innocent 9 year old, with bright ambitions whose life was tragically cut short. It doesn't matter what good he could have done. Nothing would ever cover the evil that he has committed.

There are many ways to express ourselves and the internet gives us the opportunity to do so on a worldwide basis. But whenever we do something evil and claim that it was in the name of good, we defeat any good purpose that we made have had. Jared Lee Loughner lost his battle the moment he pulled that trigger. There is nothing ever important enough or good enough to warrant hurting others. If we could all bring our beliefs to the world wide table with less violent means, we could work together to form a brighter future. And maybe our 9 year olds could live to attain whatever beautiful dreams that their hearts desire.

R.I.P Christina Taylor Green. A bright light extinguished far too soon.