Mass Shootings...Perhaps the Greatest Answer - Compassion

Oregon…my home for three and half decades. It is a place that I love dearly. Its beauty and variety is simply astounding! Then…

How do I write without bringing attention to ‘the event’ that has brought such incredible pain to the Roseburg earlier this month? My eyes welled up with tears upon hearing of yet another incident. I want to be there to just hold a friend or a loved one who has been so affected. Much has been written about the ‘why this is occurring so much’. I’m not a psychologist. I’m not even a rocket scientist. But I am an observer.

My first observation is that many want to place blame on the guns. Not saying that there may not be room for further appropriate legislation regarding guns...My second observation is that our media goes ballistic (no pun intended) with coverage over these incidents. My third observation is that perhaps the heart of the matter deals more with our treatment to each other. With that...

I observe that perhaps our greatest need is compassion, something that we lack often to one another…Compassion toward our parents, our spouse, our child…Compassion toward our teacher, our fellow student…the bus driver. We need to have compassion toward our neighbor, and his neighbor and his neighbor. We need to have compassion to those we work with, to our subordinates and to those who lead. We need to have compassion on those who look different, those who act different and those that are just different. 

I observe that Jesus Christ did just this. Whether it was Nicodemus or the leper…Whether it was the blind man or his own disciples…Whether it was the Samaritan or the Jew…Whether it was the young or the old…displaying compassion was His priority.

 I observe that those who are producing violent media (in multiple forms) cannot truly have ‘compassion’ as their priority. I observe that way too often how we treat, or are treated by family or friends does not have compassion as its priority. I observe that even the stranger can be so very uncompassionate to another stranger…occurring to old and young alike. 

Remember the old bumper sticker that reads, “Visualize World Peace”. I’m sorry, we can’t just ‘visualize’ it; it has to be lived out. Living out peace and compassion to each one we come in contact with…perhaps this will move us toward the change that we so desperately need. That’s just what I observe.

 Note: What I'm not saying is compassion without justice. No, people bringing this harm to others require justice.