Tuesday; October 9

When I heard that seven law enforcement officers had been shot in South Carolina several things went through my mind.  The first was a sense of sadness for the officers, families, community and agencies that were affected.   What a tragedy!  As I began to process this from a cognitive perspective, I started to paint a mental picture of the perpetrator.  Before the news released the information I had a couple of thoughts in mind about who might do something like this.  I have to admit that I was shocked when a 74-year-old was arrested for the crime.  I never saw that coming.
As I thought about my thoughts I realized a couple of things.  First, stereotypes may be easy but they aren’t always accurate.  It takes little thought to “believe” something about someone – but, our pre-judged thoughts are often mistaken.  The second thought was just how prevalent evil can be.  People of all ages, genders, races and economic status can do bad things.  Satan doesn’t stop tempting people when they reach a certain age, nor does he stop for geographic or social borders.  He is always alive and active!  While we don’t know the whole story, but the circumstances do give us reason to reflect.
No matter the rationale, our thoughts and prayers go out to all of those impacted by this incident.  We may not be able to understand it, but we can support those whose lives have been turned upside down.
Think About It!

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