I learned a lot yesterday watching the world try to make sense of tragedy.
I learned that it’s completely ok to take children to movie theaters to see movies that they probably are too young to see. That it’s wrong for people to be in movie theaters if they’re making too much noise and disturbing others and that personal rights to enjoy a movie preempt the rights of everyone else in the theater to see the movie. I learned that this isn’t a discussion anyone can have because it’s rude to kill people in a theater. And it’s just that simple.
I learned that it could have been me because I’m a fan of Batman. I learned it could have been you because you go to midnight movies. I learned that it was almost your friend because they were in Colorado. I learned it was someone just like us because they were on Twitter, too. I learned that it could have been any of us, and it had to be all of us. And it’s just that simple.
I learned that community is locally global. I learned that if you don’t think globally, you can ruin your local and global perception. I learned that right here at home can mean across the street or a thousand miles away. It’s just that simple.
I learned that in times of tragedy no one wants anything to be politicized, theologized, or philosophized. I learned that no one can speak without doing one or all of those. I learned that the loudest voices aren’t the ones that want to be political, but the ones that are worried it will become political. I learned that nothing can be separated from politics, theology, and philosophy. And it’s just that simple.
I learned that if we had stricter gun laws things like this wouldn’t happen. I learned that if only someone in the theater had a gun the madman would have been stopped. I learned that guns don’t kill people, people do, and if they didn’t have guns they couldn’t kill people. And it’s just that simple.
I learned that all things happen for a reason and that there’s no reason for any of it. That there’s a demonic stronghold on the Denver area and that God had everything and nothing to do with this. I learned that God allows evil. And it’s just that simple.
I learned that we need someone to blame. The inability to discern mental health. The parents who bring a child to the theater. The industries that glorify violence. The society that makes it so easy to get and use guns. The right. The left. The center. The gunman. And it’s just that simple.
I learned that when we can’t understand we look for answers. We look for solutions. We all mourn together, and we just need something. Anything. We know we can’t go back, so we just need to move forward. And so it’s all right. And it’s all wrong. And still we mourn.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
-Matthew 5:4
And still, it’s just that simple.