Wise Words for Hard Times

We have all endured another horrendous school shooting, this time in Florida, and while most of us are in shock, the political blame games have begun. Mike Rowe is an well known actor who hosts Dirty Jobs and Somebody's Gotta Do It that promotes the dignity of people working in really hard and often unpleasant jobs. Rowe also pitches trucks for GMC, as I recall. He is a very down-to-earth guy and had some down-to-earth words for a fan who wanted to know why he was silent following the Florida school shooting.

Rowe first responded:

"Sorry I’ve been so scarce. I guess I could blame a chaotic production schedule, but the truth is, I’ve been absent because I don’t know what to say in the wake of Florida.

Like most of you, I’m overwhelmed with pity for the victims and their families, but consumed with anger for the coward who chose to murder. Rage and sorrow are hard things to reconcile, and the more such things occur, the more apparent it becomes that there is nothing new to say. So forgive me Susan, if I repeat what I said after Vegas and San Bernardino."

He then went on to say:

"Evil is real. As long as humans have walked the earth, people have chosen to do evil things. This is what happened in Florida. A nineteen-year old man chose to do an evil thing. He planned it. He executed it. He succeeded.

Should we endeavor to know why? Absolutely.

Should we discuss the impact of video games, accessible firearms, single-parents, no parents, powerful medications, social media, mental illness, bullying, or anything else we think might have encouraged him to choose evil over good? Without question.

But we should also stop confusing the influence of such things with the root cause. Because nothing in this man’s past can possibly explain his decision to kill seventeen people. If you believe otherwise, ask yourself why millions of other people with a similar past don't make similar choices.

The past does not equal the future."

Amen. Wise words. It's well worth reading the whole piece. I wish we had more MIke Rowes in Congress and far fewer of the charlatan class that currently reside there.
www.dailywire.com/news/27335/mike-rowes-facebook-response-florida-shooting-frank-camp