Tragedy; Define Us

   This morning on my way across town, I heard the mayor of Aurora, CO talking about the re-opening of the theater that was host to a mass shooting last Summer. Of course, he and many residents were happy to be opening the doors in the wake of this event. The mayor said, in the end of his statement that, "we will not let tragedy define us". I can relate to the socio-political value of his words, and I appreciate his 'move forward' attitude, as we all have a built-in need to forget the horrors of our personal and collective past. I also agree with the efforts to boost morale in his town.
   There is a flaw in thinking that by cleaning up the blood, spackling the bullet holes, and making a more grand establishment out of a place like this, that the actual event will go away. The tragedy has already defined Aurora. Tragedy is a force of it's own, and it resides everywhere, crouched and ready to pounce. Tragedy is on the lips of the NRA. Tragedy sits on the scopes of our soldiers' rifles. Tragedy is starving millions of us around the globe. Our drones dole out tragedy from heights beyond our sight.
   Tragedy has a large following around the globe, and these followers lie in wait to profit; either by fame or asset. These people are as depraved as the triggermen, and the sick minds that are in the devoted service of tragedy. They simply tail her parade; exploiting every crumb and candy wrapper that has been dropped. Only the media has a greater thirst for tragedy's coat tails. These are the culprits who disallow our escape from the things we would rather forget.
   We have no choice but to let tragedy define us. Every living thing has a memory, and though our minds record everything, it is tragedy that remains in bold type at the fore-front of our memory. Of course there is room for good, but despite our efforts to forget, the loudest, bloodiest pictures are the ones that always stick. Why are we so fascinated and fixated on these things? Communication. A million good deeds go un-noticed every day, but the most obscure tragedies recieve air-time because that's what America has been reduced to. News is about scandal, death, division, and shock because any other stories don't keep eyes and ears glued to the tv or radio. If there is no scandal, some journalist somewhere will find one.
   There is an element of tragedy that should not be forgotten as well. We should remember how events happen, and take measures to prevent them from happening again. We should always remember the victims of tragedy, and somehow use those memories to make things better. There will always be the Bill O'Reillys, the Wayne LaPierres, and the US government making noise for the sake of tragedy. It could be considered something that has been programmed in to our society. Americans have been trained to respond only to the news, and are doing no more than talking about it at work. No matter how heated a debate is between opposing views, it still does nothing in the way of moving toward solutions.
   Again, tragedy wins out over those of us scratching and clawing to right the ship. I can't even respond to the good while the force of tragedy is boiling us alive. The funny part is that as a whole, most people have peace in the palm of their hand, but most will never really know what that means as long as we are fixated on the mass broadcast of tragedy. Our right to information has been contorted and fed to us by the sick minds who fuel the machine every morning. We are always too busy to notice, by design, the real news. I suggest a more thorough selection process of what we take in from day to day, as these are the things that will come out of us.
   Quit talking about the lies and the corruption; you can't change that. Change your mind, and stop feeding tragedy. Learn from history, and not from the present. Make your actions reflect your convictions, not theirs'. Quit thinking of revolution, and envision reinassance. The need for bloodshed has been exhausted. Practice austerity by choice; don't wait for the government to define that for you. Shoot your guns at game because you choose to; not because the NRA condones it. Keep your children safe by your means as parents and not because you failed and let the government step in. Dissent from the dissenters and force their hand. Make the cut and the poison will drain. It matters now. There is no time left to coast downhill.

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