numb

Two articles that succinctly say what I am thinking about the tragedy in Virginia. The first by Peggy Noonan, the second by the prophet of Baltimore, Dan Rodricks. Namely, that this kind of junk is so commonplace now, that I can't summon up the horror and shock. That our media has proved itself to be the province of blood-crazed vultures with no discernment, and that more of the same will surely follow. It's sad, not shocking. People are scrambling to explain how this could happen. Is it really that difficult to find a reason? One of my favorite quotes from Noonan:

Actually I thought of Thoreau. He said he didn't have to read newspapers because if you're familiar with a principle you don't have to be familiar with its numerous applications. If you know lightning hits trees, you don't have to know every time a tree is struck by lightning.

In terms of school shootings, we are now familiar with the principle.

Now there will be calls for tougher gun laws, as always, school programs about bullying, and a further castigation of angry young men with no positive role models. Nearly every teenager I know or knew had angst. Every thinking teenager, that is. You can't help but have an existential crisis if you sit long enough with your own thoughts. But the difference between my angst and most others' is that I had people around me, adults and friends, who at least attempted to explain some of the mysteries to me, to give me some sense of perspective, some hope that in the midst of the evil, we know that evil will not ultimately be the victor.

There isn't such a safety net for most kids. They hear "you should be moral, you should respect human life by not shooting people," but the louder, overwhelming message of our culture, is Ivan Karamazov's philosophy: without God, everything is permissible.