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Tuesday, 10 October 2006 15:16 |
 In a tragic incident last week, a gunman entered an Amish school in Nickel Mines, Pa. and shot 10 adolescent girls, killing five of them before turning the gun on himself.
It was a scene that has become all too familiar in a nation that has sadly grown accustomed to news reports of school shootings.
What was unique, however, was the response of the families and friends of the girls who were killed. Rather than respond with outrage and calls for vengeance, as might be expected, the families of the victims have spoken publicly of the need for forgiveness of the killer and for acceptance of what they perceive to be the will of God.
A
spokesman for the family of gunman Charles Roberts said that Amish
neighbors came soon after the killings to comfort the family, offering
forgiveness.
Daniel Esh, a 57-year-old Amish woodworker whose three nieces were in
the school during the attack, said of the Roberts family, "I hope they
stay around here and theyëll have a lot of friends and a lot of
support."
The Amish, who have for centuries rejected the complications of
modernity, choosing a simpler life of faith and family, have not been
desensitized by a culture of sensationalized violence and agression.
There is much that we could learn from them ÇƒÓ particularly in terms of how they confront tragedy.
Too often our culture turns to vengeance and retribution in the aftermath of crimes against us.
In the days
after 9/11, a great outpouring of compassion was extended to the
victims by most Americans ÇƒÓ and the world at large. Soon, however, as
the countryës mood turned to thoughts of revenge, that compassion
became obscured.
While we acknowledge that such emotions are natural ÇƒÓ and often
overwhelming in the wake of a terrible loss ÇƒÓ we also encourage
Americans to learn to transcend such anger.
Despite the thousands of Afghani civilians that have been killed (and
continue to be killed daily) in the ongoing violence there, the
perpetrators of that heinous crime still have not been caught.
We wonder if all of the bloodshed has brought any relative whose loved one died on 9/11 closer to a state of peace.
Justice is important. It is the foundation of our legal system ÇƒÓ and some would argue, of government in general.
Vengeance, on the other hand, is an emotion which most often leads to further suffering.
We commend the Amish community of Nickel Mines for their compassionate
reaction and their strength of faith. And we urge others to learn from
their example.
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