Shooting in Illinois

Oh, dismay, dismay…another horrible mass shooting yesterday, this time at Northern Illinois University, leaving 6 dead, and many more wounded.

When will the mindless killing stop?

When conversing about the tragedy with my wife this morning, she observed, “What an extreme form of selfishness on the part of the murderer.” And her comment got me to thinking more.

I agreed with her analysis.

Walking out on a stage in front of a classroom full of students and opening fire at random with no offense done by any of the victims is selfishness to the hilt. There was no regard whatsoever in the mind of the killer for the well being of those students. Absolutely none! This was extreme selfishness…the murderer thinking only about himself and entertaining his own personal views.

I immediately asked, “How do we prevent tragedies like this from happening?” And my long run analytical approach to life replied, “Rid our children and population of selfishness.”

Whoa…sounds like a tall order. But I believe there is an inkling of truth here to be appreciated.

As my mind’s wheels turned, it occurred to me that perhaps society at large takes selfishness too lightly. When people see a selfish act, many discount it or even ignore it, justifying the egotism as part of human nature. But should this be? I’m beginning to think not.

Many of us have selfish moments. I certainly have had mine… But maybe extremes of selfishness should not be tolerated in our society any longer anymore than robbing the local bank or destroying public property is allowed. If an ultimate outcome of the extreme self-centered thought is public acts of murder, like the above type of shooting, then shouldn’t the animus of the evil be checked early on? For example, with children at a young age, being raised at home, attending elementary school, and beyond?

How much suffering do we have to endure at the hand of mindless murderers before we realize there is a fundamental shift in thought that needs to occur in public thought to prevent such horrific acts from germinating in the first place?

I don’t mean to imply that I understand all the dynamics and background of yesterday’s shooting. I do not. But I know something needs to change in our society’s thinking to turn the tide away from an increasing number of these types of shootings. A bit more unselfishness in how we interact with each other may help.