"Abandon hope all ye who enter here"
- Dante Alighieri
- Dante Alighieri
The more I watch the news and interact with people the more I relate to that statement. Interestingly enough, it comes from Dante's Inferno and is the inscription at the gates of hell. I look around me and wonder what is going on. It just seems like it is all about violence and destruction. It also seems to be a very godless society... Godless because so many people have built false altars and are focused on their false gods.
The recent shootings at Virginia Tech are just the tip of the iceberg. 33 dead in a situation that points to poor communication... chaos... and tragedy. The media was quick to point out that the gunman had spent time in a mental institution. But from what I could tell by the article he was suicidal at the time. It is sad and it raises the question of whether or not more gun control would be a good thing. Either that or in the States it just gets more publicity. I refused to watch CNN because I knew they would be showing round the clock coverage and we would all see the carnage. It's the publics morbid curiousity and to some it fosters the idea that if they do this then they will have their 15 minutes of fame. They will be notorious. So, is the publicity really such a good thing?
And speaking of the media... why is it so big when something happens in the states and no one cares when it happens elsewhere. It does.... every day. There is senseless violence all over the world but because it happens somewhere else it does not get the same news coverage. So while you're thinking about all the people who died in that senseless tragedy think also of the people that have lost their lives and no one notices.
But it's not just in these major acts that violence is rampant... It's in everyday life. I live in a small, conservative town. I think I should use the word conservative loosely however. There are many people here who go to church on Sunday and then are out dealing drugs, carrying weapons, and getting in fights the rest of the week. What kind of message does that send? There are certainly unsavoury elements here, and ties to organized crime. There is a rather large drug underworld just beneath the surface. I live in an apartment building and it's not uncommon to come home at night and find the cops here. A while back my neighbours door was removed with a police battering ram. I felt safer on the streets in London, Ontario then I do here. And considering it's a small town it shouldn't be like that.
And it leaves me with the question, Where is God in all this?
The recent shootings at Virginia Tech are just the tip of the iceberg. 33 dead in a situation that points to poor communication... chaos... and tragedy. The media was quick to point out that the gunman had spent time in a mental institution. But from what I could tell by the article he was suicidal at the time. It is sad and it raises the question of whether or not more gun control would be a good thing. Either that or in the States it just gets more publicity. I refused to watch CNN because I knew they would be showing round the clock coverage and we would all see the carnage. It's the publics morbid curiousity and to some it fosters the idea that if they do this then they will have their 15 minutes of fame. They will be notorious. So, is the publicity really such a good thing?
And speaking of the media... why is it so big when something happens in the states and no one cares when it happens elsewhere. It does.... every day. There is senseless violence all over the world but because it happens somewhere else it does not get the same news coverage. So while you're thinking about all the people who died in that senseless tragedy think also of the people that have lost their lives and no one notices.
But it's not just in these major acts that violence is rampant... It's in everyday life. I live in a small, conservative town. I think I should use the word conservative loosely however. There are many people here who go to church on Sunday and then are out dealing drugs, carrying weapons, and getting in fights the rest of the week. What kind of message does that send? There are certainly unsavoury elements here, and ties to organized crime. There is a rather large drug underworld just beneath the surface. I live in an apartment building and it's not uncommon to come home at night and find the cops here. A while back my neighbours door was removed with a police battering ram. I felt safer on the streets in London, Ontario then I do here. And considering it's a small town it shouldn't be like that.
And it leaves me with the question, Where is God in all this?
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