The Terrible Bond of Tragedy

colorful silk patchwork quilt
Silk quilt circa 1890

Trigger Warning: violence.

We are joined to each other in many ways, including through common experiences. Lamentably, some of those common experiences involve tragedy.

This week a former police officer in Uthai Sawan, in northeastern Thailand, killed 37 people, including himself: 24 children and 13 adults. Those families and that community are now bonded in an inconceivable tragedy, one that most of us will hopefully never share.

As a citizen of the United States, mass killings are depressingly familiar. The people of Uthai Sawan and Sandy Hook are bonded in a way none of them wanted and most of us can never imagine.

But I wonder if we can imagine this: caring enough in our common humanity that we move beyond shock and awe, followed by resignation, to a real commitment to reduce this violence. I know we can, and I hope we will.