Reflection on the Aurora, Colorado Tragedy

Article By: Dan Clark

A tragedy has happened today. That word has regained its meaning after certifiable madman stormed into a midnight showing of Dark Knight Rises fully armed killing at least a dozen people and injuring many more. People who were simply looking for a moment to escape into fantasy were violently thrown in a gruesome reality I could never imagine. One of the last few venues that celebrates the joy of the communal experience was targeted simply because it could be. What happened in Aurora, Colorado could have happened anywhere to anyone, which is part of what makes it so heartbreaking. If this has taught us anything it is the power of human compassion. When it is absent the limits to which humans will go to hurt others is unimaginable. When it is present the limits humans will go to lift up their fellow man forever trumps the atrocities of the evil few. We are better than we realize unfortunately it takes horrific acts like this for that fact to come to light.

That’s not to say people won’t attempt to use this to support their own political or moral agendas. However, this isn’t a time for agendas. This is a time for remembrance and reflection of the way we treat one another. The discourse we see today is shameful. Our ability to communicate has been boiled down to messageboard diatribes and cable news berate fests. Earlier this week the website RottenTomatoes.com had to shut down their comment sections on Dark Knight Rises reviews because people were leaving death threats to critics who gave the film negative reviews. People threaten to kill other people simply based on an opinion of a movie. A movie many of those unconsciously leaving these threats probably haven’t even seen yet. I hope those people who would act in such an atrocious manner realize now what the threat of death truly means. It is not something to throw around with no accord like a child unable to grasp the power they were given. Ultimately who cares what else somebody thinks of a movie? How does their viewpoint at all detract from your enjoyment? It is fine to disagree but when you allow hatred to slip in you are sliding a very slippery slope. This is the perfect example of how we become accustomed to easily devaluing others. We are in a faceless crowd where nothing is off limits. Anything can be said with no repercussions to our behavior. Is what happened in Aurora a result of this mindset? Most likely not. Unsatisfying as it sounds crazy people do crazy things, and sometimes there is nothing you can do to stop them.  That shouldn’t stop us from taking a step back to look at each other in the face again with a respectful voice.

Now the question is where do we go from here? I understand it’s a pipedream to think we can use this disastrous framework to redefine that way we look at one another, but if this can’t do it I don’t know what else can. Politically we are divided as ever as we try to decide who has the right plan for this country to get it back in shape. Culturally we see no one’s opinions but our own and target any other for destruction. My question is if you place the ultra liberal and ultra conservative into that theater early this morning were their goals to survive be all that different?  Would the movie fan long for escape any less then the movie critic?  Would your reaction be determined by your political afflation, or do you think the party of humanity would be your primary concern. As corny and as generic as it might sound we aren’t all that different. When those people were huddled together praying and hoping for survival any differences or petty argument no longer seemed as important. In the most unfair manner possible people died who did nothing more then buy a ticket. My heart goes out to all those struck by this tragedy. Allow today to remind you how powerful the ability to walk away is. Take a step back before you send that tweet or update your status that is simply designed to cause an uproar. Take a step back before you call that political rival a raving lunatic and try to see things through their eyes. The theater goers in Aurora didn’t have that choice. They couldn’t walk away. A madman with an assault rifle made that choice for them. We have that choice. We can decide to be better. We can decide to do better.  Let us make that decision. We owe it to them.