Peace on Earth, Goodwill Toward Men

Could it be compared to rubbernecking? I don't think so. It's so much worse than a car wreck that you can't quit watching.  It has to be the worst thing I've ever seen unfold. Every day the details become more horrifying. It's not the number of deaths. Shit, we lost THOUSANDS on September 11th.  It's not the shooting spree.  He wouldn't be the first to use a gun as his weapon of choice. It can't be just the age of the children. Look at Rwanda. What seems to be getting me, is just how mean this was. 

And that's the irony here. There is so much cruelty happening and there's so much love happening. I feel like a crazy person watching the news. One minute, I'm weeping over these damn comfort dogs and the incredible kindness of strangers and the next I just want to mow down the fucking Westboro "church". 26 decorated Christmas trees... some asshole setting up fake donation scams. A family coloring pictures on their daughters casket... some douche shoots up China Garden. It's a bit like watching Hallmark commercials during a Horror film. 

It's got me thinking how I've often read and heard about times like these yet I'm not sure I've really understood it in this same way.  I think Charles Dickens put it pretty well in A Tale of Two Cities, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way".  He figured that shit out in 18frickin59. Brilliant. And of course, there's my favorite, Dave Matthews.  In a song called "Christmas Song" he tells the story of Christ from birth to death and ends it singing "Father up above, why in all this hatred do you fill me up with love".  Not sure there is a better way to put it.

From where I sit, in this season of peace and joy and merriment, the whole country seems a bit bipolar. A range of joy and sadness and one constant lack of peace. I'm not sure the answer here except that perhaps Dave hit it right on the head, in all this hatred, fill yourself up with love.