It’s been three full days since the terrible massacre at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, VA. During this time, we’ve learned the identity of the murderer and seen his so-called “manifesto,” witnessed a university, and a nation, mourn, heard of one individual’s bravery, and have been inundated with calls to begin the “healing.”
We are also being exposed to claims that this could have been avoided. Some believe that more gun control could have prevented this carnage, while others believe that less gun control would have done the trick. There is also the angle that the university is to blame by their lack of response after the initial stage of the massacre. And, of course, if only we would have “seen the signs” of what this cold-blooded murderer was capable of, or once the signs were in fact seen, done something about them, then April 16, 2007, would be just another ordinary day on our calendars.
One point, however, that may be overlooked is that this event was carried out by pure and unadulterated evil. We live in a world that “evil” and “wickedness” constantly rear their ugly heads. We witnessed it in Nazi Germany, on 9/11, and this week at Virginia Tech.
When seeking ways to prevent these types of events from recurring, we are faced with the enormous task of overriding “evil” by challenging it with forces of goodness. A world that is all good will not tolerate the wicked. A world with an agenda of kindness will never breed evil. A person living in a world that is all good will always be driven to do more good.
The world, as G-d created it and as we know it, is a work in progress. G-d created the world and placed us within it to work towards perfection. This is man’s mission. To make a world which is lacking into a place that G-d can consider home.
To be sure, the world will not change overnight, and we will encounter obstacles throughout our journey. However, we can make a difference one good deed at a time.
When lighting the smallest flame in a dark room, the darkness immediately begins to dissipate. And the greater the light, the less darkness there will be. The more goodness we bring to the world, the further we expel evil. With everyone doing their part in making the world a place of goodness of kindness, our universe will ultimately be completely good, the way G-d intended for it to be.
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