After the horrific and terrifying events of Friday night, everyone seems to be in a state of shock, and rightfully so. There's no correct words that could accurately convey the depths of what happened, or how tragic it is. Every time tragedy strikes in our world, it resonates heavily with all of us.

So, in light of the strong emotions that everybody feels, how should we respond to tragedy? How do we even begin to feel tackle what happened in France, or at Umpqua Community College, or whichever one may be the most present in our minds?

Everybody has their own ways of understanding, coping with, and responding to tragedy. That's OK. However, there's one response to these terrible tragedies that I believe must be avoided at all costs: Blame and hatred.

I fear that as we see these terrible events unfold around us, we want someone or something to blame for what happened. We want to be able to solve the problem in an easy way because the idea that something so disturbing could be so hard to solve is a terrifying thought.

Because we are afraid and disgusted by these tragedies, we start to blame entire groups. We start to despise and fear all of those who are Muslim because of the terrible actions of a few. We start to blame immigration, or video games, or mental health, or guns, or the political parties we disagree with, or whatever sounds like it makes sense. We want to find an easy solution to a complicated problem.

Now, don’t misunderstand me. All of these issues that I just listed are incredibly important conversations to have. A healthy dialogue across the nations about the nature of Islam, the stigma surrounding mental health, or whether or not gun control should be embraced are vitally important topics.

The biggest problem is that the discussion of these serious issues divides us in times of tragedy. Instead of banding together in love and in care of the people around us, we make awful assumptions about those who think differently than us. We think that those who fall on a different political spectrum than us are ignorant and nothing more. We think that those who adhere to certain religious beliefs are disgusting human beings. Because of how unfathomable the tragedies are, we want something to project our fears and our anger onto.

While these issues are important, we need to remember not to turn against each other. We need to remember that we are all humans with the same common goal of making the world a better place. Instead of tearing people down, we should be building people up and showing our humanity.

My proposal is that, as a society, we should band together as one in response to these terrible tragedies. We must remember that everyone around us is a human being that is also frightened and wanting to solve the problem. We should unite and send a strong message to those that would commit such terrible tragedies: We are all in this together.

But instead, we let tragedies divide and tear us apart.

I'm not telling you what to feel about certain issues or suggesting that I know how to change the world. What I am telling you is this: Hate and fear as a reaction to tragedy only makes people feel more divided, more distant, and more terrified of walking out their front door. Everyone should be respected regardless of their religion, ethnic background, political views, or any other thing that we may find controversial.

My suggestion is that when it comes to tragedies, we can all mourn and work through the tragedy in our minds in our own private ways. We all have different methods of coping with things that are difficult to handle. But when it comes to the political side of the discussion, we need to remember that the people who disagree with us are not the enemy. Showing love is the most important thing we can do in times of tragedy.

And that love? It starts with us. For the sake of humanity, it's what we must do.