The thought occurred to me a little while ago, which is that I cannot remember my reaction to the first incidence of mass slaughter, the first time I heard about a gunman opening fire and killing dozens of innocent victims.
There have been so many of them, it appears I might be hardening somewhat to these tragedies. I do not want to harden my heart.
The Uvalde massacre in Texas has hit me harder, perhaps, than most of the recent events. Nineteen fourth-graders were gunned down along with two of their teachers. President Biden has implored Congress and state legislatures to “do something” to stop the carnage. I have some hope this time that we might get something done, although not nearly enough.
But, my goodness, there have been so many communities linked by these horrific events. There are too many of them even to list. Doing so would likely result in my forgetting one or more of them. They all have broken our hearts.
It’s just that these events are occurring with such sickening frequency that I fear we’re becoming — odd as it seems — numbed to them.
If left to a choice between frequency and shock value, I would prefer to be shocked.