Ron Boat asks…What makes America work?

THINK ABOUT IT AMERICA – What makes it work? People! The good people who work, who contribute and commit, step up and help others. People who give of their time and money for charities, helping others they don’t even know, selfishly participating in others’ lives. In the case of first responders actually placing their lives in danger for the benefit and well being of their fellow citizens.

This week saw the repulsive antithesis of good – evil. The true and real  personification of what can go wrong when people put themselves above others. The total, ultimate and final resolution of personal hate and disdain for society, it’s rules, laws, and yes its participants. What causes – what forces someone to plan out an attack, living with ingrained hatred for days or weeks wanting to do one thing…. kill people they don’t even know. If we knew that we could probably solve crime in America.

We can make an excuse for those who kill out of rage or revenge, who take a life in defense or retribution but to wantonly take lives of people doing nothing more than enjoying their lives, their freedoms, their love of life is without reason or sanity. We find no solace in half truths, explanations of one’s anathema for humanity because in most cases there is no acceptable, reasonable reason for reactions so destructive. To harm those who don’t know, who have done you no wrong, who are not in your life in any way other than to breathe the same air of freedom and opportunity is wordless in its description.

The balance of this lunacy are the lines of people who stood for 6-8 hours to give their life’s blood for those they simply heard needed their help, their  support, their élan vital of life, giving subsistence to those who need it more. People who answered the call with no knowledge of the needy other than… they have a need. People who give their time and blood without benefit of reward other than that personal satisfaction and smile that lingers for days or weeks when remembering “they were there to help their fellow man,” they were part of the anonymous army that cared, that responded, that gave and saved.

It’s been said many times and by many means that no man is an island. The people killed did not live under a vacuousness veil of society anonymity. Their lives touched many people; they had families, friends, coworkers, they were contributors to the collective whole of America. Their passing leaves a potential for greater loss given their future beneficence to us all.  The only small flickering ray of rank reality was the cowardice of the gunman – who shall go unnamed here –  for taking his own desperate life saving taxpayers millions in trials, treatments and useless attempts at reform and rehabilitation – for there is none for such unspeakable heinousness.

The only shortcoming of this result is the lack of reason for the families of victims – the truth behind the turmoil that might offer some comfort and contentment, some final closure and cessation of the pains of life, if even for a moment of personal relief. But in the end… there may be no reason other than a selfish, self-serving act, a delirious desire for dominance on the world stage if only for the time it takes to forget such malevolent motion of murderousness inhumanity.

God bless the innocent victims, their families, their community and God bless America as we deal with the evil in our midst.

RB