The following sentence is not comforting.

If an intelligent but deranged person with access to weapons and no fear of death wants to hurt someone, there’s not much that can stop him. Fortunately, that combination is exceptionally rare. Rare, but as we know, it happens. And when it does, the pain they inflict is almost unbearable.

I ache for those children and their families. I read accounts and I cry and curse this man. I imagine what they saw, what their last minutes were like, what they’ll miss in this life. And as a parent, I imagine the hell those parents are going through. I ache, but I know I’m not alone in that feeling. And that’s why I don’t lose faith.

I don’t think the world is going to hell. As horrible as this was, it actually strengthens my faith in we humans. I ask myself, how many bad people were there that day? In this case, one. One person whose mind, to put it mildly, was not wired correctly. One person who caused so much pain. But then I ask myself, how many good people were there? And the answer is hundreds. Teachers who fought for and saved children. Staff who died trying to stop him. First responders who heard there was a shooting at a school and raced to the scene to help. People in the town and around the country who have offered support and prayers and whatever they can to help those who are suffering.

And the same is true whenever a disaster, manmade or natural, happens. The heroes fly in to help. The good comes out. And the good always outweighs the bad.

There are bad people in this world. And there are things we can do as individuals and as a society to make things better and to protect ourselves. We have to look at how we treat the mentally ill, how can we change our gun laws, and how can we make our schools safer. There are no simple answers. But occasionally, no matter how vigilant we are, bad things are going to happen. And when they do, good people become great people. My faith in that fact grows stronger every day.

BLB