{"id":5123,"date":"2015-08-27T06:10:54","date_gmt":"2015-08-27T10:10:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=5123"},"modified":"2015-08-27T06:15:51","modified_gmt":"2015-08-27T10:15:51","slug":"something-like-this","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=5123","title":{"rendered":"something like this"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/photo-1440557958969-404dc361d86f.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-large wp-image-5124\" src=\"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/photo-1440557958969-404dc361d86f-1024x683.jpeg\" alt=\"photo-1440557958969-404dc361d86f\" width=\"654\" height=\"436\" \/><\/a>I\u2019m back.<\/p>\n<p><em>(Note: I had a post ready to publish, but the events of yesterday altered my thoughts \u2014 and thus my plans and our ensuing, respectful dialogue.)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>On Wednesday morning, as the Virginia dawn was breaking and many more were waking, a television reporter and a photo journalist were shot and killed during a live broadcast. They were shot by a former, said to be \u201cdisgruntled\u201d employee. It was intentional. The <em>very<\/em> initial investigation seems to indicate the murders were premeditated.<\/p>\n<p>Heinous. Horrific. Give me whatever word you want. As my longtime, sweet school friend shared with me \u2014 a friend who is also an accomplished photo journalist \u2014 I\u2019m \u201cnumb. Just numb.\u201d She told me about yesterday&#8217;s newsroom&#8230; how their typically bustling set was only\u00a0quiet and devastated. There is &#8220;no ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, or CNN&#8221; on days like yesterday; our newsrooms are a close knit community.\u00a0There are so many emotions \u2014 for them, for us\u00a0\u2014 yet so few words to adequately describe.<\/p>\n<p>It seems true on this planet, when bad things happen, we really struggle with how to respond\u2026 <em>wisely.<\/em> I get it. If we\u2019re not numb, we\u2019re outraged. Maybe, often&#8230; both. And when we\u2019re outraged, we react immediately. We are a reactionary people.<\/p>\n<p>I thus paused, observing the plethora of instant, varied reactions to Wednesday&#8217;s awful event\u2026<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Some immediately adopting the eye-for-an-eye verdict\u00a0<em>(although their words aren\u2019t quite as nice as mine).<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Others decrying gun violence.<\/li>\n<li>Still more denouncing all private gun ownership.<\/li>\n<li>Others ranting about racism.<\/li>\n<li>More, too, demanding\u00a0new policy initiatives.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&#8230; all in the seemingly immediate, initial instant after the awful event.<\/p>\n<p>I get it. Does America have a gun problem? &#8230; a violence problem? &#8230; a racism problem? We certainly struggle with each of the above; many people are legitimately passionate about these issues. Let me first add a related concept. I believe we also have a significant problem in this country with mental illness; we\u2019re not good at acknowledging it nor discussing it \u2014 a topic the Intramuralist believes gets way too little air time.<\/p>\n<p>My sense, no less, is that each of the above conflicts are topics on which we could\/should undoubtedly host a longer, respectful dialogue. My sense is also that our instantaneous outrage in these areas often impedes us from seeing a far bigger, bottom line.<\/p>\n<p>Bigger than the problems with\u00a0guns, violence, and race, America seems to have\u00a0a &#8220;sin&#8221; problem\u00a0<em>(&#8230; sorry&#8230; I know we have trouble and great discomfort acknowledging and discussing this; I just don&#8217;t like to avoid any topic).<\/em> Hence, allow me to explain&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>If sin is \u201can immoral act considered to be a transgression of divine law,\u201d we need\u00a0to at least attempt to discern what \u201cdivine law\u201d is. What does God actually require of us?<\/p>\n<p>Yikes. I must confess\u00a0that the Intramuralist was never blessed with some ultra-omniscience capable of articulating exactly what God requires and does not; in fact, I\u2019m pretty confident no human has been so seemingly blessed. But if asked, I would start with something like this\u2026<\/p>\n<p>The great big God of the Universe wants us to love him and love other people <em>(&#8230; let me repeat that&#8230;).<\/em> Love him and love other people. He wants us to be humble, act justly, and love mercy. If each of us <em>simply started with that,<\/em> my even keener sense is that there would be less problems on this planet \u2014 yes, less of a gun problem\u2026 less of a violence problem\u2026 and less of a racism problem.<\/p>\n<p>If yesterday\u2019s killer had humbled himself before God \u2014 submitting in some semblance of prayer his emotions, experience, and so obvious <em>(to us)<\/em>\u00a0wrongful belief system \u2014 before the living God \u2014 he would not have killed Allison Parker and Adam Ward. Instead, this killer was seemingly \u201cmad as hell and not going to take it any more.\u201d He knew no divine law at that time.<\/p>\n<p>I think of the two innocent people who died Wednesday morning\u2026 two people, doing their jobs.\u2028\u2028 As my dear friend said, I\u2019m \u201cnumb. Just numb.\u201d Maybe that humble pause should be the\u00a0first reaction for each of us\u2026 accompanied by tear-laced prayers for the families of Parker and Ward. May God be with you now.<\/p>\n<p><em>(P.S. I\u2019m back.)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Respectfully\u2026<br \/>\nAR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I\u2019m back. (Note: I had a post ready to publish, but the events of yesterday altered my thoughts \u2014 and thus my plans and our ensuing, respectful dialogue.) On Wednesday morning, as the Virginia dawn was breaking and many more were waking, a television reporter and a photo journalist were shot and killed during a &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=5123\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;something like this&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[526],"class_list":["post-5123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-event","tag-virginia-tv-shooting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5123"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5123\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5132,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5123\/revisions\/5132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}