Every time tragedy strikes, we catch a glimpse of humanity at its ugliest. We try and tell ourselves that these harsh realities are no longer relevant, that we as human beings have surpassed these barbarian acts. And yet, we sit in front of a screen in shock nonetheless every time more innocent blood is shed. We see the faces of the suffering, the lost, the mourning, and it reflects back across our own. You sit there and ask yourself how someone can do something so horrible, how a human life can be so devalued. For a day, the world seems to stop, and you wonder how it will ever get to moving again. But it does.
The sun comes back up, your screen turns back on and a new headline appears. The day after 9/11, you saw the faces of the police officers, firefighters and everyday civilians who risked their lives to save others. We learned of the teachers and psychologist who sacrificed their own lives to save their students during the Sandy Hook shooting. We learned of the man who shielded the 22-year-old’s head with his own body in the Bataclan music venue during the Paris attack. The pain shared from devastation brings about a unity that appears in the darkest of times. We squabble and debate on the pettiest of things on a good day, but find common ground when it counts. Every time tragedy strikes, we catch a glimpse of humanity at its strongest.
Every day we quietly suffer with personal problems that no one else is a witness to. We type behind the anonymity of a screen and fight over issues that are often not the root of the problem. We complain about things that camouflage what is of real concern. Go through your social media feed and look at your followers. Realize that every one of them is a real person, that they are each hurting. Look at the driver in the lane next to you on your way to work, and realize that there is a story that goes with that face. Every time tragedy strikes, we unite through pain. What we don’t realize is that there is pain around us every day. This is not a reflection on tragedy. This is a reflection on humanity.
The question is as common as Alan Jackson’s song: “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning).” To me, the important question is not where you were, but what you were doing. What were you doing on September 11, 2001? What were you doing on Friday the 13th this month? What were you doing before reading this article? What does this say about you during a time of tragedy?
