Shooting in Arizona

Here I am sitting in my recliner listening to music and keeping an eye on the breaking news on CNN about the Congresswoman who was shot in Arizona. Do not know why the young man decided it was necessary to walk into a crowd and start shooting. 6 Dead, 12 wounded. One of those killed was a 9 year old girl. A little girl who never crossed another person in her young life. Here a man took her life away, all for a grudge or some such, perhaps, even a difference of politics.

What has happened to the days in which we could have differences and discuss them rationally and come to a mutual understanding? Have those kind of days ever existed? Perhaps not. But it does seem that today we are a much more divided society than some would have us believe. Why? I wish I had an answer. I think society has in it a notion of look at and for differences and then declaring anything that is different from his or her perceived norm is wrong, to be outcast and demonized. We are so quick to catalog everything and everyone into groups. Liberal, moderate, conservative, black, white, Latino, straight, gay, Catholic, muslism etc. It should not be hard to see us for what we all are, human. We all live, breath, love, cry, bleed and die the same.

Out society very much needs to change. To become a society that sees the similarities among us rather than our differences. Being different is not a bad thing. It can indeed be a very good thing. Being different can bring a new perspective on an issue that leads to a solution. Often my views can be connected to the world of Star Trek and the ideals of the United Federation of Planets and especially those of the Vulcans. IDIC: Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations. This is what our society should be striving for. Moving and working towards the betterment of humanity as a whole. Clearly our present state of mind which is about the betterment of thy ownself is not getting us very far in a hurry.

At present I am not sure if as a society we are moving forward or backwards. Regardless I have not lost my faith in humanity and believe that the future will be better. I just wonder about what lies ahead. How much we will have to endure before we can reach the ideals of the UFP and the Vulcans.