This is a writing blog. I talk about writing. Today, I’m going to talk about something more important. You’ll have to forgive me.
Early yesterday morning, a gunman walked into a nightclub in Orlando, Florida and opened fire. 49 people lost their lives and more than 5o others were injured. The gunman had pledged allegiance to terrorists, but it hardly matters what group takes credit: the truth is that he was fueled by hatred.
In the face of such evil, it would be easy to give up. It would be easy to wonder what sort of world we live in today and lose hope entirely, but we can’t do that. Here’s why.
Once the story broke of the attack, people all over the country responded. Those in Orlando lined up outside blood donation centers and mobile donation buses. Thousands responded. Temperatures soared to the high 90s, and yet people never wavered.
Those unable to give blood provided food and water for those in line. People hundreds or even thousands of miles away sent monetary donations.
According to a news report, six surgeons in Orlando performed 26 surgeries that night.
The common thread here is one of love, support, and hope. It’s one we’ve seen every single time something terrible happened in the past.
During the Boston Bombings, men and women rushed toward the explosion to help the injured.
During 9/11, homes were opened to complete strangers just to provide shelter.
During the Bataclan attack in Paris, the world stood in unity and support.
Last night, a building in Tel Aviv lit up with the colors of the LGBT community. Vigils were held in Rome, Madrid, Paris. The Empire State Building burned a rainbow hue through the night sky.
This support won’t even begin to scratch away the pain the families and friends of those lost feel, but it does show one thing more clearly than ever.
When evil rears its head, good comes back swinging. Hate will never be able to overpower love, no matter how hopeless it gets.
This tragedy has made its mark in history as the worst mass shooting in American history, and so our country mourns. We mourn our lost, all those ripped away far too young by one man with a heart full of hatred. We mourn for the families that will never again be the same.
But though we mourn, we will not despair.
John Stewart said of the terrorists after the 9/11 attack, “They live in chaos. And chaos can’t sustain itself. It’s too easy, and too unsatisfying. The view from my apartment was the World Trade Center. Now it’s gone…but you know what the view is now? The Statue of Liberty.”
Terrorists have one objective: to spread fear, chaos, and hatred in their wake. But it backfired.
There is no chaos. There is love. The country stands together, as it always does in times of crisis. Our prayers are with the families, with the injured, and with the country as a whole.
So go. Live your life as you normally would. Hug your loved ones. Say a kind word to strangers.
But do not give in to despair. Do not lose hope, and do not fear.
To fear is to let evil win.