Meaning Amidst The Violence
Today is the anniversary of one of the most shocking events of my lifetime. On this day in 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold carried out their sickening assault at Columbine High School. Last year, upon the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the massacre, President Bill Clinton said the events at that school in Colorado “changed us forever.” 
I wonder what that change has looked like for us. There are plenty of different perspectives after an event of this magnitude. Some people are closer than others, some always seem to see things more clearly, and some are perpetually clueless. Now that eleven years have passed, there’s a large segment of the population who weren’t old enough to notice the worst public school shooting in American history.
Change comes in a lot of forms. The harshest form reshaped the lives of the families of the 15 people who died, two dozen wounded, and countless others in that devastated community. Some folks used the shootings to pump up the gun control debate. A lot of people threw their hands in the air and saw no hope. Many more, especially those inspired by the character of Cassie Bernall and Rachel Scott, found light in the midst of darkness, meaning amidst the monstrous.
I think if we’re honest, a lot of us hear about these hellish tragedies and thank God that it didn’t happen to us. Then we go on with our lives hoping that nothing like that ever will.
We always want everything to make sense but sometimes life just doesn’t. So what do we do with a story like this? How are we supposed to commemorate what took place in Littleton, Colorado? The short answer is that we live purposefully, intending to make a positive difference in the world around us ev
eryday.
If you could, would you reach out to one of the parents whose child was slaughtered while they were at school? Most of us would. Then who is around us today, even right now maybe, and hurting? What person in your life needs a soft word of encouragement or a few minutes of your time?
What about those victims? Would you love to go back in time and tell them what was coming? I think we all wish we could go back and prevent some terrible things that have happened. Of course we can’t, but the future is coming. How much of it do you have left? What if tomorrow is your day? What if it’s today? Are you ready? None of us want to face that reality right now, but could you if you had to? Cassie and Rachel did.
The last one is toughest of all. What about those two young guys who planned the rampage and never looked back? Why did they hate? What did they need? We’ll never have all the answers, but wouldn’t you like to go back to the point in their lives when they ran so far from the main path? I wonder if maybe they were pushed a little from that path, from the crowd. I bet they were pushed a lot.
Do you know someone around you constantly taking abuse from stronger people? Have you seen unjust situations? Have you stood by? Taking no action is a pretty decisive step when you think about it. People are being stepped on and pushed all around us. Sometimes in the panic to get on top we start jumping on the weak, those few individuals in our lives that are looking up to us. They need us.
How far do people have to be pushed before something terrible happens? We see this at every level of society, from adults in the workplace to kids at school. Until a few years ago, victims could get out of those nasty places with nasty people and find escape at home. Today’s a
ge of hi-tech, plugged in, constantly wired living allows no escape from the brutal masses. The torture, especially for high school kids, continues through Facebook and text messages of cell phone bullies plastering the worst parts of their life for the world to see. There is no escape.
In case you’ve never heard it before, there’s an old saying that says “Hurt people hurt people.” Sometimes they hurt themselves. If you see someone around you that’s hurting, let them know you care. If you are the one who is hurting, don’t believe the lies that seep into your mind like poison. You know what I’m talking about, that voice telling you that no one cares or that you’re not worth it. You’re worth more than you could possibly fathom, and this storm you are going through will eventually pass. Talk to someone about your struggles.
On a day like today we think about Columbine and often don’t know what to do next. I don’t know how or if you’ve changed, but we can all decide today to start doing the right thing. There are masses of people out there who need you. Go get them.
Connect with me on Twitter @ClayMorganPA.
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Life. Culture. Education.
Life as Pop Culture Professor Clay Morgan
In The Matrix, Morpheus tells Neo he can take the blue pill and go on believing whatever he wants to believe. Or he can take the red pill to stay in Wonderland and find out how deep the rabbit hole goes.
This is a red pill type site that provides information in an entertaining way. It’s about clear thinking and good writing. It’s about finding meaning amidst the absurd. It’s about humor and truth.
I’m a writer / speaker who teaches history and political courses at a couple of local colleges. Where is local, you say? Well, that would be Wonderland of course.
On topics ranging from pop culture to the meaning of life, my brain’s always poppin’. Take the red pill and unplug.
I served in the United States Marine Corps with guy who was in the lunch room on that very day, he described to me the first hand account of what he experienced. He stated that the girl next to him at his lunch table booth was shot, covering his white t-shirt with her blood. He says he stills has that t-shirt, unwashed, and as soon as he graduated he enlisted into the Marines and made a vow to himself to never not do something if he was in that situation again. He is an outstanding Marine to follow in combat and a genuine friend I hold close. It’s better to be proactive than reactive.
Thanks for relating that. His reaction is the kind of change we all need to take on. Big moments are always ahead of us on the path of life. Are we preparing a little more everyday for those opportunities? You and your friend are setting a great example to follow.
This story is a great reminder of how fragile young people really are. For some reason in todays society young people turn to violence to solve their problems, it is truly sad.
For 8 years I worked with kids from 6 to 18 years old. Since then, I have heard of 2 kids that died of gun shot wounds, and about 7 or so serving time for violent crimes. We all have a hand in shaping the youth, like it or not, this article is a reminder of that.
Thanks for that feedback EN. It’s hard to see solutions when problems are so huge. Our part is to make sure we do right by the few lives we have a chance to impact.
Columbine made a mark on me. I was 12, I remember walking in the living room and seeing footage of kids running from the school. I don’t even know why it made such an effect, I guess it was one of the first news tragedies I really remember as they happened. And it was a powerful, strange story that kept changing (they were bullied, they weren’t, she said she believed in God, etc.)
Not too long ago I was looking up Columbine for some reason and I encountered something that said the murderers made a video right before they left for the school. In it they apologized to their parents for what they were about to do, said it wasn’t their fault. That clarity, then the sadism they displayed in the shooting (but again, they let a friend of theirs go) is so strange. I don’t know if that’s officially insanity, but it certainly suggests holding two realities at once.
There are a lot of people out there who are just lost in life. As the old saying goes, “Hurt people hurt people.”
I remember Columbine. I was in high school at the time and watched it all unfold live. I never had to choose between my life and my faith, but Columbine brought home the reality that even in my midwestern teenage life I needed to be prepared to make that choice. Thanks for this post.
As a parent of teenagers, the thought of Columbine terrifies me…I have witnessed how cruel kids can be to each other.
I think your advice to reach out to people who are hurting is bang-on, but sometimes it’s not enough…
Reposting on Facebook…
Wendy
Thank you Wendy. We can fix everything; you’re right about that. Maybe we can just impact one person sometime.
Clay thanks for posting, I think we all need a reminder now and then of how fragile life can be and also how in one cruel moment it can be taken away.
I remember Columbine along with Virginia Tech where my oldest son was going at that time, trying to reach him and his wife to make sure he was alright, then the Fort Hood shooting where my youngest in the Army was and had just come back from Korea after a year. He called me to let me know he was OK that day and told me he had been in that building at 10:30am that morning..
These things we must never forget, that is what keeps the Humanity in Human beings. I don’t believe we need to live in fear but instead learn how important it is to show the ones around us how much we love them, because today might be the last chance we get, don’t pass it up, no regrets….
It’s like a softer version of carpe diem for sure. You have a couple amazing experiences there Arty. Thanks for sharing those.
Awesome,Clay. Thank you so much. Thank you.
Glad you liked it Jess. Thanks for commenting.
I attended my first two years of high school in the Denver suburbs, and even though I lived in Florida at the time, this tragedy hit a little closer to home than some of the other’s I’ve heard of. This was also a check-point for me in my faith journey.
Today I read this Einstein quote at my chiropractor’s office: “The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.” Seems pretty fitting for this post.
Great point Kim. We can’t save the world, but we can be aware of those around us. It might just be up to us to do something, even if that something is as simple as a friendly hello.
Wow. Great thinking, great writing.
Some random thoughts:
-I have a series of quotations I rotate in my classroom and your post reminds me of one of them: “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” (by Edmund Burke, I think).
-There is synchronicity between your post today (“Move with purpose”) with this: “The short answer is that we live purposefully.”
-One week after Columbine, there was a school shooting in southern Alberta. One teen, the son of a pastor, was killed. One week later, the father preached about forgiveness. I’m not sure how. But here’s a link: http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/taber/omalley3.html
Thanks so much for that. I know that quote well and believe it. I hear stories of forgiveness like the pastor you mention and even victims of the world’s worst atrocities. They go back and personally forgive the one who committed the horrific act. You’ve got to have a worldview/faith that’s seriously grounded in forgiveness in order to respond in that way. I will read the article you linked.
I live a couple of towns up the road from Columbine. When it happened, I was spending the week in the hospital with my 15-month-old daughter. She had viral pneumonia, and we didn’t know if she would make it. I think that intensified my sympathy for those parents, particularly the ones with children in the hospital.
I can tell you, some of the kids at my kids’ schools are seriously crazy. Far beyond the reach of a kind word. After all of the committee meetings, hearings, and studies generated after Columbine, the schools’ only plan is still to to lock the doors and wait for the police if one of those kids loses it and decides to off everyone. As a result, I’ve told my kids that if they ever hear gunshots in the hallway at school, they are not to climb under a desk. They are to climb out the window and run like hell, and we’ll deal with the consequences later.
Thank you for your thoughtful post, Clay. I appreciate your appeal for everyone to reach out to someone who is hurting. I think if we all do that, though it may not eliminate problems, it will certainly make the world a better place. All the best.
Spoke with my hubby about your blog. He told me about a fellow he knows at the local Rifle Club who is a teacher. After Columbine, this teacher packed a go-bag for his classroom with cables to secure doors so someone can’t just shoot the lock and walk in. (A locked door and nothing else is hardly a plan.) He had cardboard to cover windows so no one could see in. He also had a bullet-proof vest, a Bowie knife, and a baton so he wouldn’t be helpless to protect the kids.
Sure enough, there was a drill one day, and no one warned the teachers in advance. This man had his class cabled up, boarded over, and the kids separated into groups so a shooter wouldn’t be able to get all of them with one pass, hopefully giving him time to defend them should the barricade be breached. He could hear someone trying to get in the front door. They couldn’t. They went to the back and couldn’t get in, either. They came back around to the front and finally announced they were the police. He opened the door, but he didn’t know for sure they were the police until he saw them so he kept his baton ready. When the sherriff came in and saw what he’d done, he said, “Now this is what we need to be doing!”
I’m thinking that training all teachers as combat soldiers is a bit unrealistic, but if my kids had this guy, I would tell them to do what he says and not jump out the window.
That’s phenomenal. What a thought provoking perspective. I’ve had a plan for various rooms at the college. Many of them are 3 or 4 floors up. My office is completely thought out. Some people think it’s extreme, and I don’t ever expect to use any of these plans, but you never know when that one terrible thing might happen. I’ve already been in the middle of a student gun threat that involved Pittsburgh police. I will be thinking about this example you’ve mentioned for a long time. Thanks.