Living in a “civilized” society, it is easy to forget that the world is a very ugly place.  When something horrific happens (like bombings, shootings, or natural disasters), we are swiftly reminded otherwise; however, we are shocked.  We are shocked at how “bad” the world “has become.”  (This is the post of “air quotes.”)  When different parts of the world play by different rules, we cannot expect everyone to be civil to each other, but this is hardly anything new.

People have been killing other people since before recorded history began.  Whether you believe Cain killing Abel was the first murder is irrelevant to the point.  For many thousands of years, horrific acts have been pushed upon the evil and innocent alike.  Our mistake in this civilized world is believing we are above that.  Show me a person who has never thought about committing an act of violence, and I will show you a liar.  Even (the) Saint Nicholas got fed up and hit another man (Arius).

As the population grows and resources become strained, the world will become even uglier.  We civilized people like to ignore things.  We ignore pollution.  We ignore violence.  We ignore anything we do not like regardless of the truth.  While everyone is not evil, we all have the capability of doing evil things.  Just because we live in a society that values respect, honesty, and goodness doesn’t mean other do.  We should be offended when violence occurs, but we should not be shocked.