Thoughts I Can't Escape

R. made a comment to me that something was weird with this week in history. I want you guys to check this out:

April 16, 2007 Virginia Tech
April 19, 1993 Waco Branch Davidians
April 19, 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing
April 20, 1995 Massacre at Columbine HS

Four of the five biggest tragedies in our nation happened THIS WEEK... over the course of 15 years. It makes me wonder what it is, what caused this phenomenon. Is it Spring Fever? The end of a long, cold winter causing stir crazy people (or perhaps people with Seasonal Depression mebbe?) to suddenly act out? Was there a full moon on all these dates? Allergies got you down? WHAT??? It bothers me. Each of these events was caused by one or two people who just went batshit crazy. How many hundreds of lives were effected? How many parents mourning their children? How many children growing up without the guidance of a steady, loving parental hand?

I look at those dates, those events, and reflect on the horror each brought. I know the impact they made on me and I can only imagine what it did to the people directly effected.

The question that burns the hottest in my mind though is this:

What is it that drives us as a species to destroy our peers as we self-destruct?

Suicide is selfish. Yes. I once said its the most selfish act someone could ever make. I was wrong. Destroying other people by either killing them or leaving them as the survivors of your rampage and your disregard for life in general as you self-destruct in a ball of flaming "Glory"... that's the epitome of selfishness. That's the final act of ultimate narcissism and a perfect expression of the growing sense of entitlement that each generation seems revel in as time goes on.

How do we fix it? How do we make a dent? We start with ourselves and our kids. We fix those same flaws within ourselves and try not to pass them along to the next generation... Man... Shecky is NOT gonna like me much for a while.