A Day Without Sunrise

There was no sunrise here yesterday.

I thought it was strange. (someone should sue me for the over use of that word)

On my walk to my seminary carpool, I've become used to seeing the sunrise.
Yesterday there was no sunrise. No clouds. Not even a highlight of the rising sun. The entire sky was a mass of even gray. No variation. No color. Just a dusty gray. (Literally. We later found out that it was caused by dust in the wind)

Given what happened yesterday, I can't help but see this as a metaphor or symbol.

Yes. The Boston Marathon bombing.

I... don't want to write the facts, so here's a link. Basic Facts

What does this mean? I'll tell you one thing. Gun Control isn't the problem. If it were, this wouldn't have happened. No. The problem is that there are people out there who just want to hurt others. People who want to kill people. And they are always one step ahead.

It's sickening. Frustrating. 

What can we do? Pray for the victims, punish the culprit. Learn what we can. Wait for the next disaster. 

This is my third disaster.

Aurora Colorado, 7/21/12 

Sandy Hook Elementary, 12/14/12

Boston Marathon, 4/15/13

There have been more. But these are the ones I remember. I remember what I was doing that day. I remember who told me, or how I heard it first. I remember the facts, and how they kept changing as time wore on. I remember the victims. I remember the murderers. I remember asking why.
Why. Why do people kill? What could possibly push them this far? How depraved must that person's mind be... to plan such destruction. When will it happen again?

And then I get to thinking like this.

 

There is so much WRONG with this world. 

 One man's heartache is another man's headline.

And then someone said this.
"You want to know why. This may sound cynical, but here's why.
It's because of the way the media reports it. Flip on the news and watch how we treat the Batman theater shooter and the Oregon mall shooter like celebrities. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris are household names, but do you know the name of a single *victim* of Columbine? Disturbed people who would otherwise just off themselves in their basements see the news and want to top it by doing something worse, and going out in a memorable way. Why a grade school? Why children? Because he'll be remembered as a horrible monster, instead of a sad nobody.

CNN's article says that if the body count "holds up", this will rank as the second deadliest shooting behind Virginia Tech, as if statistics somehow make one shooting worse than another. Then they post a video interview of third-graders for all the details of what they saw and heard while the shootings were happening. Fox News has plastered the killer's face on all their reports for hours. Any articles or news stories yet that focus on the victims and ignore the killer's identity? None that I've seen yet. Because they don't sell. So congratulations, sensationalist media, you've just lit the fire for someone to top this and knock off a day care center or a maternity ward next.

You can help by forgetting you ever read this man's name, and remembering the name of at least one victim. You can help by donating to mental health research instead of pointing to gun control as the problem. You can help by turning off the news."

And then I heard this.

And I remember.
The world can't be as bad as it seems.
It can't.
Because in this world of horror, depravity, and darkness...
You and I live.
We carry on.

We pray. We love. We nurture.
We teach correct principles. We learn of forgiveness.
We are children of God. All of us.
All of us.


"Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if only one remembers to turn on the light"-Albus Dumbledore.

We are the light of the world. You and I. The helpers. The heroes.
Darkness is nothing more than the absence of light.
As long as we are here, as long as we don't give up, darkness cannot win.



I didn't see the sunrise that morning. The colors didn't shine through. But this doesn't mean that the light wasn't there.