I wish that I could discuss something positive for my first news post, but that just is not the case. In fact, I delayed writing about this situation with the hope that a positive story would emerge so I could write about that first. Since that has not happened, I will discuss the tragic massacre that occurred in Aurora, CO this past Friday morning.
First of all, my thoughts and prayers go out to those who were affected by this senseless act. Especially the 12 families who have lost a loved one at the hands of James Holmes. This tragedy highlights the pervasive lack of respect for life and people that exists throughout our society. Everyday there are murders and physical attacks that do not make national news. There are abortions, rapes and robberies that often go unreported or unsolved. Bullying is rampant in schools and neighborhoods. This senseless rampage in Colorado is the latest shock to the American conscience. As the families in Aurora, CO seek to pick up the shattered pieces of their lives and begin the rest of their permanently altered lives, the rest of us have some clear obligations. We must pray for the quick recovery of the living victims and the emotional strength for the families of the fallen. We should pray that such an act does not occur again. We must also take this time in the wake of the tragedy to examine the state of our society. Where do our values stand? Where are our morals? How do we prevent such an event from happening in the future? These questions must be addressed despite the difficulty of finding the answers.
There is a particular issue surrounding the event that I want to address before moving forward. One young couple was criticized for taking their four month old child to the midnight showing of “The Dark Knight Rises” when they found themselves amid a scene from a horror movie. Here’s the thing. As parents we know that we all need a break from time to time. We can’t always afford a babysitter or find a qualified babysitter for a time that is convenient for us. This young couple merely wanted to enjoy a brief, but fun moment together while their child slept harmlessly with them. I find no fault with their decision to go have some quality time together. I do take issue with those people who want to blame this tragedy on anyone or anything other than James Holmes. Let’s face it. There probably is no form of predictive analysis that could have foretold of this event. Certainly there were indicators that Holmes held some violent intentions, but the target and the motive could not have been reasonably determined by current intelligence methods. Okay, technical stuff aside, no one reasonably expects that a movie theater would be the scene of a massacre. Instead, we expect to find crowds of fun-seeking, possibly irritating, moviegoers who are out to have a good time. None of the victims should be assigned any portion of blame for possessing that expectation.
Now, I will get to my point. As fathers we play a vital role in how our society behaves. (Disclaimer: I AM IN NO WAY BLAMING HOLMES’S PARENTS! That is not the goal of this post.) WE must do our best to teach our youth how to be responsible and respect others. As they grow, our children ultimately make their own decisions. However, those decisions are greatly impacted by how fervently we as fathers advocate positive values. The effectiveness of our words is magnified when we set a visual example. That part starts even before we become parents. There comes a moment in every man’s life when he must decide the manner of man which he will become. Do we stand for righteousness and respect, or do we give in to the evils of this world? If we choose the former outlook, then we must be willing to do what is right even when it is the more difficult choice. We must recognize the value of hard work, trust, dignity, humility, justice, leadership, integrity, knowledge and love. Then, as the builders of our legacy, we should stand on those values to make the world a little better by the time we leave it. We should attempt to positively influence everyone with whom we come into contact. No place should this be more evident than in our homes. The Bible indicates that the man is the head of the home, and he should teach positive values diligently unto his children. Likewise, society tends to view man as the head of the home, as demonstrated by IRS tax exemptions. It is clear that as men we are called to lead. The example that we set for our children can have far reaching consequences. Our example and guidance can change the prospects of an entire generation, and the cycle will continue through them. The more positive examples that today’s youth can see around them, the faster and more permanently they will opt to follow that path.
People often speak of wanting their children to have a better life than they did. This usually refers to worldly possessions such as money, houses and cars. Why don’t we change that mentality to mean that we want our children to be better people than we deem ourselves. If we strive for this, then perhaps society will become exponentially better. Perhaps we can eventually eradicate the hatred that motivates actions such as the shooting in Aurora, CO. It all starts with us parents, particularly us fathers. We must stand up and lead our society to a moral disposition. We have the power to create positive change in the world.
Thanks for reading. I promise that most of my future posts will not be this long or all over the place. May God bless you.
