Crisis on Infinite Fronts

It's easy for me to sit here and take pot shots at the Administration, to ridicule the positions of overly-zealous columnists, and to wax philosophic about meaningless musings.

What isn't so easy is discussing real problems, actually going in depth about the crises that face our nation today, and the potential solutions of them. I have plenty of venom, but adding more poison to the water is only going to make things worse.

A lone madman stocks up on weaponry and decides to murder thirty-two people in the worst murdering spree in the history of American education.

The incident at Virginia Tech is a damning indictment to the sorry state of "national security" that we have, even in (perhaps especially in) a post-9/11 America. Thirty-two people were killed, and many of these deaths could have been prevented if not for miscommunication, poor response time, and a variety of other infrastructural nuances.

Thirty-two college students were murdered in cold blood, and they're reduced to nothing more than a headline and a deep uneasiness.

Was your first thought, "This is horrifying?" Was it, "This could happen to me?" Was it, "Something should be done about this madness?"

All three are equally valid and natural. But the problem is, most people won't care. They won't do anything. They'll give a, "Gee, that sucks," and move on in their daily lives. They'll talk about the tragedy, perhaps demand that some surface change be implemented in their home communities. Those that bother to worry about it will pressure schools to implement metal detectors, more rigorous searches, and a myriad other security measures that can stem the tide of weapons.

But they can't touch the hate in these madmen's hearts. They can't fix the broken lives of the criminally insane. A mind full of anger and bent on destruction can't be detected electronically. The poison that inflicts these peoples' minds and lives-- we can't stop them through words or laws or rules. We need to focus on pinpointing these sociopaths before they become so dangerous. And we also need to be able to stop the walking time bombs whenever they explode.

Today, thirty-two families now have to bury their sons and daughters. Brothers and sisters. Cousins, friends, students, lovers.

Parents will never be able to see their babies again.

How long will you remember?

1. Emily J. Hilscher
2. Ryan Clark
3. Ross Abdallah Alameddine
4. Brian Bluhm
5. Caitlin Hammaren
6. Jeremy Herbstritt
7. Rachael Elizabeth Hill
8. Matthew La Porte
9. Jarrett Lane
10. Henry Lee
11. Minal Panchal
12. Daniel Patrick O'Neil
13. Juan Ramon Ortiz
14. Daniel Pérez Cueva
15. Erin Peterson
16. Mary Karen Read
17. Reema Joseph Samaha
18. Leslie Sherman
19. Maxine Turner
20. Christopher Jamie Bishop
21. Jocelyne Couture-Nowak
22. Kevin Granata
23. Liviu Librescu
24. G. V. Loganathan
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Never forget.