There is madness in the world – no doubt about it. Most recently it was the terrible event in Las Vegas when a lone gunman opened fire on innocent people taking in a country music concert. It is upsetting to say the least. Why such things happen will always be a mystery. Even in our day to day lives we can see examples of negativity and sometimes cruelty. When did the world become so cynical? When did good manners and simple courtesy become passé? When did our focus become so centered on the ugly and the hate-filled?
Aw, I think therein lies the problem. It is easy to get sucked into the fear mongering and hateful speech that spews forth like sulfuric acid from the mouths of some of our so-called leaders. Their words are so charged with intolerance that I wonder how their tongues don’t turn to ashes from all the acrid wording that drip from their lips in the guise of honest opinion. It is not honest – it is closed-minded and prejudiced.
It is easy to get sucked in – to turn on them in anger and self-righteous rage. But then, I think to myself, isn’t this what they want? The camera focused on them; to be center stage in a drama not of their making, but one they will nonetheless wring every ounce of attention from.
No, angry man, I will not lend you my ear, nor give you the attention your overdeveloped (or perhaps underdeveloped) ego demands. I will walk away from you, I will not engage in your full blown tantrum.
When the world has seen one more example of pure insanity I take comfort in the words of a Garth Brooks song called The Change:
One hand reaches out
And pulls a lost soul from harm
While a thousand more go unspoken for
They say, what good have you done by saving just this one?
It’s like whispering a prayer in the fury of a storm
And I hear them saying you’ll never change a thing
And no matter what you do it’s still the same thing
But it’s not the world that I am changing
I do this so
The world will know
That it will not change me
