The Genz

The other day, my brother asked me why I was so bothered by the death rampage that took six American lives on Saturday in Tucson, Ariz. He said that these type of unexplained and unfathomable tragic events happen all the time. He has a point - Fort Benning, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma City, 9/11. So to answer my brother, I dug into my soul to find the answer. It occurred to me that while I did not know any of the victims, they could have been my friends, family or neighbors. I thought about a man protecting this wife from the death fire of Jared Loughner's gun. There was the aide to Congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford, Gabe Zimmerman who was doing his job, reaching out to people. He did not know it but he was in a battle zone. He gave his life for his country. Then, there was the death of nine-year Christina Taylor Green. Media reports depict Christina as a young girl with a big smile and a bigger heart. At a time when many walk away from the idea of public service, Christina had an intere...

Today I was shocked after opening up Twitter and seeing that U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords (D-Arizona) had been shot and that several deaths resulted from a shooting rampage at a Safeway in Tucson, Ariz. Like many others in this country, I immediately asked why to no one in particular. It is one of those moments in which we blurt out something knowing that there isn't anyone to hear it or for for which there isn't a rational answer. Death rampages like we witnessed today only haunt and bewilder us. When I drank my Cafe Au Lait earlier in the morning, I fully intended on watching NFL football in the afternoon. But, I didn't. My eyes have been glued to the TV and the coverage of this shooting. I was pulled to the coverage in a similar manner as when the Virginia Tech shootings happened or when the bridge in Minneapolis-St. Paul failed. As I watched news segments on MSNBC, CNN and Fox, in horror, I began experiencing a rash of emotions, mostly anger but also hurt for ...