Arizona Shooting

I'm watching the stream of "Together We Thrive: Tuscan and America" both out of a curiosity as to how the people affected by this tragedy react without news anchors to prompt them, and out of a need to feel the reassurance that always accompanies an assembly of people who share a stake in something terrible. For the second time now, I'm listening to a scripture quote from one of the speakers and somehow I don't see any atheists scoffing at them over using their big anthology of Jewish fairytales as a crutch. The first three speakers, when given a mike, didn't spend their time bashing the party that may be responsible for making this man snap or even placing blame on the gunman himself. They instead focused on their love for the lost and the wounded. When Obama took the podium, there were no demands of "where's the birth certificate" or challenges to Obamacare. There was only welcome and joy and having him here. Unfortunate though it is, there is something about unspeakable violence that brings people together. When the market crashes, the people are out for blood, but when a plane crashes into a building we're racing to the Red Cross to give blood. When a homeless man in the street asks for some spare change we can't find any but when an earthquake literally rocks a neighboring country we're willing to sacrifice our own luxuries so that a stranger can have clean underwear and a nice blanket. Just as the destruction of muscle acts as a prelude to increase strength, destruction of structure in society serves to fortify the bond between individuals who share a quality. Light after darkness is so beautiful that it's overwhelming. The greatest kindness Obama bestowed on us tonight was the image of a woman simply opening her eyes. We find the goodness in people; the humanity in each other; the love in ourselves. In the midst of finding this comfort, marveling at these miracles, I can't help but wish there were a hundred million of them. It does not take a sudden fall to prompt that you reach out and touch someone. I will not thank this madman for endangering so many lives and, for whatever reason, disregarding his own humanity. I won't feign gratitude for the predicament of instability an act of random violence inflicts on a society. I am not one to smile at a rainy day. As I get through it, however, I am wont to appreciate the rainbow. This heightened sense of benevolence is a beautiful side effect of this painful dose of insanity.