Tragedy

There hasn't been too many times the news have made me cry. Me, a grown man. 9/11 was one.

Today was another.

It's a day of unspeakable evil, of unimaginable tragedy. 26 innocent lives lost in a single act of evil. As if it was not tragic enough, 20 of those were children.

As a doctor, losing 26 lives is perhaps something I might face professionally in a period of years. It's not easy, but we are forced to accept that we won't always win the battle with fate. As a father though, the thought of losing so many lives, so many young children, just fills my heart with so much sadness and anguish. I'm heartbroken.

I look at my girls, and I just don't know what to think. We watched the interview just now, of one of the teachers, of how she thought it was the end and she wanted to let the kids know in case they died, that they were loved. Knowing that before they left.

My wife and I picked our girls up from daycare early today. And all evening, we held them a little tighter. Several times, we teared up and sobbed.

And though I don't want to get into the politics of things, and the subtleties of gun control, I can't help but also feel anger. At how some people actually believe that the right to bear arms will actually make this world safer. "If only I had my gun to protect myself..."

Look at some parts of the world. Look at Malaysia; at least that is one thing we got right; death sentence for illegal possesion of firearms. Or look north at our Canadian neighbors. And tell me they have the same rate of gun crime as we do here in the USA.

There will be crazed nutjobs everywhere; you're not going to be able to stop them. But, if you make it a little less easy for people to get semi-automatic firearms, and don't give them the ability to maim or kill many in a moment of seconds, then perhaps these tragedies will happen less.

But no, today is not a day to argue about gun control. Today is a day of mourning. To be human, and to share the grief and pain and tears some families are undergoing. To come together despite our differences in opinion, and just cry, because some innocent lives were lost.

You can't also help but wonder sometimes; perhaps the Mayans were right. Perhaps man don't deserve living on this planet.