We are learning that the events that transpired in Denver during the midnight premiere of “The Dark Knight Rises” Friday come with a double-sided effect.
On one end you have the pain and suffering, the empathy and misery left in the wake of this tragedy. Felt by (and for) those killed or injured, their friends and family, their community and beyond.
On the other side, you have anger and condemnation manifests in all its forms, some more extreme than others.
Some blame policies (or lack there of). Some blame parenting or the media at large. Others look to question the actions of our species as a whole.
At the core of it all, change – on whatever level – is desired. Whether it’s in reinforced personal accountability and responsibility or a collective effort to prevent such atrocities from ever occurring again, something has to change. If not, we might as well all reach for the sky.
While the coming weeks will bring both conservative and liberal prognosticators to draw various lines in the preverbal sands before us, moving forward will be both difficult and telling.
In an ideal world, there are no guns. There isn’t a need or want to intentionally injure another human being, whether it’s to prove a point, an ideology or to gain an advantage of some kind. The Seven Deadly Sins wouldn’t compel us to such acts.
Truth is, the power is in our hands, always has been. Calmer heads prevail, or so they say. With a near incalculable number of people dying by the hand (or gun) of another every minute of every day – worldwide – it would appear that our sense of power and how it should be applied has been compromised. And for some time, I might add.
Where do we go from here? I don’t know. If I thought that all of you would read this, if I dared to dream that this would be translated in all the languages of the world and adhered to as retroactively as Mitt Romney’s retirement, then I’d simply say, “Knock it off, seriously.”
Though I don’t think that will happen, a boy can dream and hope that it does. In the meantime, promising to do my part is all I can do. At some point however, we are all going to have to start waking up when these all too familiar “wake-up calls” get our attention.
In the coming weeks, many of us will follow along as James Egan Holmes faces his day in court. Pressure will be applied to the varying sides of gun regulations, gun de-regulations and all those in the middle. Tempers will be exacerbated and with as many questions that are answered, many more will beg for understanding.
Finding peace and solace, as each of us do, every day will go on (easier for some than others), but if we’re actually focused and determined to learn the lessons from all these mistakes that we are guilty of and deeply affected by, then perhaps providing and maintaining a better world isn’t out of reach.
It sure beats throwing our hands in the air.
Follow the columnist at @JOMOFO40
Reach the columnist at jbfortne@asu.edu
