There's been a lot of sad news lately. The Newtown school massacre, the New Delhi gang-rape-murder, the man pushed in front of the subway in New York. The irony of having "new" in the name of each city is that they're actually not very new stories at all.
In a story much closer to home, there was a highway hit-and-run on New Year's Day that resulted in the death of a 7-year-old boy. A minivan was rear-ended by a Hummer, which then drove off to the exit ramp. The driver then ditched the car and ran off. In the report that I read, it appeared that the Hummer almost drove right over the van. The little boy sitting in the rear seat didn't stand a chance. The back corner of the van had crumpled like an accordion.
I actually drove past the scene of that accident twice yesterday. The first time was on my way to my uncle's house for dinner. It was in the opposite lanes so I couldn't really see what was going on. It amazed me that the highway was still shut down hours later when I was on my way home. There were no vehicles, but you could still see the debris strewn across the road.
It's a sad reality to face. This is us. Human beings. It's not just a matter of a few bad eggs. I believe it shows that every single one of us has the potential to do unspeakably terrible things to other people. Yes, I agree that occasionally there are mental issues involved. The woman accused of pushing the man in front of the subway in NYC said that she hated Muslims and Hindus ever since 9-11 and she had been beating them up whenever she saw them. (Hindus?) She thought pushing the guy in front of the subway would be "cool". Okay, obviously not a rational person. But I can't believe that the half-dozen men who gang-raped that girl in India and then inserted an iron rod into her body all had mental problems. This was something else. This was something that told them it was perfectly okay to abuse the girl and beat up her boyfriend, then throw them naked off the bus and try to run over her.
Why do people do these things? I don't know, other than the fact that it's probably somewhere in our nature. It makes me seriously doubt the future of humanity in general. I am more convinced than ever that we will eventually wipe ourselves out. Especially when, for some, the solution to controlling crazy people with guns is to arm everyone else with guns too.
Despite all of this, I still have a tiny sliver of optimism. I sincerely hope that, in this new year, we can take the first steps that we need to create a real solution. To any of humanity's problems. Take your pick.
"'Cause though the truth may vary, this ship will carry our bodies safe to shore"
