Good Out of Bad

What a tragedy in Arizona this week...what a waste of human life.  A obviously mentally unstable young man took a semi-automatic gun and started firing at a Safeway store where the local Congresswoman was holding a "Congress on the Corner" event.  He killed 7 innocent people who were just there to see their goverment representative and express what they'd like to see her attempt to do for them at the national level.

I won't even begin to get into the rheotric being passed around regarding whether the tone of our current political arena is what set this individual off.  I was raised in a family where if you couldn't say anything good about another you were better off keeping your mouth shut.  But, if there were some truth to that, then I would wish that all who were responsible would think of the 9 year old victim before they opened their mouth.  Words do hurt...I see it everyday at school.  If you think they don't then your living in the world this individual apparently did.

There are two items I can address in this situation, however.  First, we aren't addressing mental health issues in this country correctly or fast enough.  When parents take their children for in-patient services, their insurance tells them how long they can stay, not whether the child is "better" or able to cope.  I have students come back to my school that have no business being there, but because we are a public school we have to continue to serve them.  Sometimes they are served through a home-based situation, sometimes they are back on campus.  I often think of a conversation Spock and Captain Kirk have in one of the Star Trek movies...."the good of the many are greater than the good of the one".  Sometimes the rights of an individual should not be more important than the safety of the many.  I am in no way excusing the acts of this individual, but I do believe and see everyday others that could do the same act that are not getting the help they need.

We also have a stigma about people who have mental health issues...truth be told, we all have some mental issue but it manifest itself worse in some individuals.  We need to start thinking of helping people, not labeling them.  In most cases, with appropriate counseling and sometimes medication, people can live and survive in society with no major issues.

Secondly, today I learned that the 9 year old victim was an organ donor...now, I'm sure she didn't make this decision on her own but her family probably did.  Out of their grief they seeked something good.  I'm positive that the person/people that are now gaining another chance to live, to see, to function are grateful for their gift.  I'm also sure that they will be saddened to hear of how it occurred.  Out of something bad, something good happened to these people. 

God bless the parents and family of this child.  I certainly hope that in their hours of sadness and darkness they take comfort in knowing that others are living through their daughter.

This may be my most unpopular post I ever put on this blog, but I felt I needed to say something.  My career choice and my experience as one who has been given the gift of life would not allow me to not say something.  You don't have to agree....but you should be thinking about all the points made.  The world cannot afford for you not to.