Monday, July 23, 2012

The Highs and Lows of Human Potential

When a person makes the decision to take so many lives - as happened in Aurora Colorado early Friday morning - it can lead to many questions that no amount of evidence collection, witness interviews, or the inevitable and seemingly unending media attention can answer.
Of course, there have been many devastating examples of senseless violence in recent US history. The 9/11 attacks, acts of arson, and bombings such as occurred in Oklahoma City are just a few examples. The effect of these events is difficult to overstate. No discussion of other tragedies can or should be allowed to diminish the horror of these events in anyone’s mind.

Finding recent examples of murder on a grand scale is made easier by the fact that three-quarters of the deadliest mass murders in the United States have occurred since 1980. And while mass murder comes in many forms, most of these deadliest acts involved firearms as the exclusive or primary weapon.