Butch Reacts to the Connecticut School Shooting

It was only a couple months ago that the bad news had gotten the better of me, so I sat down and wrote exactly how I felt about it. Not surprisingly not everyone took my advice. So here we are again with horrific news. I am no psychologist, no priest  and no motivational speaker, quite honestly there are no words to describe the events of this morning, but here are my thoughts. 

First off, forget the gun control talk for today. I am not telling you what my stance is on the issue, and I truly don't care for your stance either. The fact is that there are 27 dead people in our country, most of them kids, and they were shot. Pray for them, mourn for them, give to them, and don't argue about what would have been if gun control laws were different in this country. That can be discussed tomorrow, but it's not changing what happened today.

Hug your kids, but not just today, not just because this happened. Let this be a reminder that life is short, that at any moment it can be taken from us. Life can get crazy, kids can drive us nuts, but any sane human being that has experienced the joys of parenthood couldn't imagine their life without their kids.

Don't make the killer famous. Instead lets remember the fallen, the innocent people who woke up on a Friday morning looking forward to the weekend like the rest of us, a weekend they will never see. Clearly the person who committed this horrible act wasn't sane, and there are professionals who will dive into why he did what he did, and try to come up with solutions to make sure it doesn't happen again. Leave that to those people. Instead of posting the killers picture on Facebook, remember a victim. I think of Columbine, and I can't name the name of one victim, but I know both shooters names, how messed up is that?

Finally, don't lose faith in humanity. It is events like these that cause people not to want to go to the movie theater, not to want to send their kids to school, not let them watch movies or listen to certain music. It causes people to lose trust in the neighbors, their co-workers, and friends. All for good reason. Remember though, life is short and it is full of a ton of good people with a handful of bad ones mixed in. Live life to the fullest, and don't let fear and hate consume you.

God bless those affected by this senseless act. Thoughts and prayers to those in Connecticut.