Reflecting on tragedy over Thanksgiving
Tragedy seems to be around every corner. Las Vegas. Puerto Rico. And so many more instances that have been overshadowed or forgotten.
It seems that every generation feels like they are living in the most chaotic time period in history, with anarchy taking precedence over reason and order.If history is any indication, nature will do terrible things to innocent people, but what is even truer is that people will do terrible things to other people.In the past, there always seemed to be a reason for terror. Maybe an act of terror was committed for an ideology or religion, who knows. But there were reasons given as to why something was done and there was almost always a train of thought that could be followed — regardless of how terrible that thought might have been.
Regarding the acts of violence in 2017, however, everything just feels random.
Maybe the difference between past terror and our present issues is that nowadays it is so easy to report on them. Twitter, Facebook, heck even Instagram, are all reporting news. The availability and constant stream of news is overwhelming; every day it feels like the news comes at us like waves of terrible events, beating us down until we are totally numb and desensitized to it.
Hopefully these terrible events will spark a conversation about change — about gun control, mental illness, etc. — and what exactly needs to be done.I certainly do not have all the answers, but if people keep talking, then change is possible. That is the hope.There are positives in life though, and I feel like now is exactly the time to focus on these positives.
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, it seems appropriate to reflect on how fortunate we all are at the University of Guelph to benefit from living in a safe environment. It really puts things into perspective, and if worrying about a midterm is our biggest problem, then we should really count ourselves lucky.
While so many of us get to go home for Thanksgiving and see our families and friends, some people will not have that luxury, and that makes this holiday even more important.
In an age of mania and sporadic violence, events like Thanksgiving — and other meaningful holidays — become a time of healing, a time to reflect, and a time to consider how we want to be when we return to our everyday lives.
Although many of us spent Thanksgiving at home eating turkey and pumpkin pie, lots of people were dealing with, and continue to deal with, the trauma experienced in Las Vegas and Puerto Rico.As much as I’m sure the people in Las Vegas appreciate our thoughts and prayers going out to them, it seems much more likely that this Thanksgiving they are hoping for change, hoping for society to take a hard look at itself and question what it values.These are trying times, and it is so easy to get lost in our own little worlds and problems, but trying times breed improvement. Improvement is what we all need to strive for now.
Photo courtesy of The New Yorker via CC0