I don’t really write about violence and criminal issues that much, so I’ll defer to Jon Katz’ Underdog Blog on Steven Kazmierczak and the shootings at Northern Illinois University.
The most moving part of his post is this:
The most powerful way to reduce violence in society is for each person to reach out to others in need. Otherwise, rampant violence will continue, and convicting and jailing people for violent crimes will just be a band-aid that barely covers the wound, and that does little to prevent new wounds.
If only we all followed this little thread of wisdom.
Katz always makes me step back, breathe, and think. For all of the fire and passion that I express on The Legal Satyricon, I must confess that I always try to be more like Katz. Compassionate, calm, pensive.
Obviously, my success is somewhat incomplete.
Even the Buddha was not always enlightened.
For now, I’ll make sure that I do at least one extra act of compassion today. I’m going to be traveling today, which means that I will encounter any number of idiots, flunkies, and pains-in-the-asses. I’ll pick at least one person that I have a tremendous desire to scream at and instead do something nice for them.
Heh, that’ll screw with my friends’ heads. That alone will make it worth it…
But, a little being the change you want to see in the world is never a bad thing.
