Opposition

I wrote today on my Twitter feed that

My heart is heavy for the loss of life and trauma in Las Vegas. I join many others with prayers for those affected.

— Joe Lowry Jr (@jlowryjr) October 2, 2017

Like everyone I have spoken to, I frequently checked the news for updates, hoping to understand what prompted the attack, what the killer’s motivation might be.

In social media feeds, I frequently saw people remark how “the world is going crazy.” That is true, in many ways.

In other, very important ways, it is not.

We are much less likely to die prematurely today than at any other time in human history. There is less war, less crime, less disease, less poverty. We have seen wonderful acts of kindness and service following the recent hurricanes, and we will continue to see it.

The evil we see today is often carried out by individuals and small groups. Their motivations and ideologies are not broadly accepted. It is no less despicable for that fact, but I believe that these events seem more heinous precisely because we have been blessed by tremendous physical safety.

This doesn’t bring back those who died last night in Las Vegas, or heal the injuries of those who lived. But I stand with the millions who will help them recover, and there is great power in that association.

The horrific nature of these shootings does seem to represent a deepening evil, and we could spend a lot of time examining its roots. But I also see a compensatory good that rises in opposition to it, and that is what I want to recognize tonight.