Blacksburg

How do you make sense of the incomprehensible? Well, one way is to write about it. I've tried to make sense of the horrible events on the Virginia Tech campus, but there's little rationality involved in the actions of an armed madman. But you can, I think, look at some of the side issues while the good people of Blacksburg and begin to mourn.

• Two things happened almost as soon as the carnage ended. Those with an agenda about guns began chanting their mantras, while others condemned them for "playing politics" with the tragedy. I don't see how you can't "play politics" anymore, given how polarized we have become as a nation. I have been consistently amazed when I talk to my left-wing brethren; we live in the same world, share many of the same experiences, but our perceptions of what we see don't correspond at all. Given this, it's beyond reason to expect people not to have their views of such an event sent through their personal political prism. In a better world we might be able to get beyond such things, but I doubt it's possible any more.
• It's once again evident that a single human being can hold enormous power, for good or evil. The shooter, who we are learning was a deeply troubled young man, had this rage building inside of himself for a long time. It appears that a number of people noticed the rage and some even attempted to intervene in his life, but to little avail. While we want to provide relief to every troubled soul, even our best efforts will sometimes fall short. I think there's a cautionary tale there for those who would use the power of the state to ameliorate all our ills, but then again, I don't want to "play politics."
• We cannot know God's will for sure, but we can know God's mercy and I think that, even in the face of an unspeakable evil, faith will be the one thing that gets Virginia Tech and the larger community that it serves through this tragedy. We have seen moments of grace and courage throughout the aftermath of this event and those are the outward sign of God's grace. The actions of the shooter were senseless indeed, but we will be able to move forward by understanding how God is now working in Blacksburg and beyond.