Time to ramble about the horrific tragedy in Orlando.

What’s clear:

• Fifty people lost their lives. It hurts to type those words. Tragedy visited Orlando Sunday morning.
• No one should carry out a crime to the physical harm of another human being out of opposition to lifestyle or religion.
• The availability of semi-automatic weapons means they can and will be used to take many innocent lives at once.
• According to the Bible, Satan-influenced sin (of the attacker) against God is the primary reason for any such attack.
• Hundreds of real people (not caricatures in a story) now must pick up the pieces and move on after surviving the trauma of the attack or learning of the loss of a loved one.
• The Bible and the Judeo-Christian faith speak clearly and directly to this situation regarding its cause, God’s role, and how survivors and those grieving can find hope.

What’s blurry:

• Love and hate. As someone who disagrees with the gay lifestyle on Biblical grounds, I can BOTH weep with those mourning loss AND disagree with their lifestyle. A saying such as “Love, not hate” can blur thinking depending on what’s meant by love and hate.
• Islam. I think many Americans and especially Christian Americans have difficulty separating radical Islam from all Islam. This blurs understanding and attitudes, enhancing fear.
• The government’s role in preventing this. Both presidential candidates (and to be fair, President Obama as well) have addressed the difficulty of identifying the lone attacker type. I label this blurry due to the difficulty in identifying them and the need to profile (by ethnicity and religion) to effectively prevent these types of attacks. Very blurry on many levels!
• Public grief. I debated placing this in the “clear” category, but I leave it here. Social media blew up shortly after the event with divisive posts regarding all the socio-political dynamics involved (yes, there are many). Politicians and leaders talk about tragedy and grief, but by refusing to ignore the politics in lieu of calling for a season of grief it blurs the lines. I wish leaders would simply say they won’t answer any questions about the politics of the why until a season (at least a week?) of mourning and respecting the dead has passed. My heart tears observing our inability to grieve.
• Human life. Obviously human life is devalued in a mass murder. Human life, in my opinion, is also blurred when we won’t focus on grief, respecting the dead, and encouraging support of those fellow Americans who suffer immense tragedy. This mass murder is a real event with real life changing consequences. Blanketing the situation with political talk only blankets and mutes the value of human life – both the dead and the surviving suffering.