AUGUST 28, 2025 – Today I’d wanted to write about the horrific evil that tore into Annunciation Catholic Church and School across town yesterday. But what could I . . . what could anyone . . . possibly say about such an affront? The tragedy is beyond words, and even to try to say something meaningful seems almost disrespectful of the people and families directly affected by the shooting. I could no more easily write about it than I could compose a piece of divine music such as Ebarme dich, mein Gott from St. Matthew Passion by J.S. Bach. Which, I suppose, is why in times like these, only music like that or Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings can begin to express the inexpressible sadness that overwhelms us.
What I can and will say, however, is what so many—but still not enough—people are asking . . . every single time a mass shooting occurs in this country: How can a civilized society allow this to happen, not once, not twice in a decade but on a regular basis year-in, year-out, coast-to-coast, border-to-border? What in the names of the saints is wrong with us that we do not hold ourselves to account for this endless cycle of gun violence? Just when in our social evolution did we Americans lose our hearts, our souls, our minds and allow the gobsmacking proliferation of firearms generally and automatic rifles specifically? Is it something in the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat? Or is it something darkly sinister in the modern extensions of our much lauded rugged individualism, manifest destiny, religious zealotry, infatuation with unchecked freedom, and obsession with the Second Amendment (versus the rest of the Constitution)—all at the expense of the common good and all in rejection of the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth?
To the people victimized by yesterday’s shooting we have some deeply serious explaining to do.
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© 2025 by Eric Nilsson
3 Comments
Hear! Hear!
Thank you, Eric. You’ve captured my horror and bewilderment. Why, indeed, do we do the evil we do?
Be well. Write on.
So true! The prevailing idiocy in this country regarding assault weapons has been superseded by the number of spent ammo casings scattered around the church entry. The pistol jammed and only 3 shotgun shells were fired, but more than 100 full metal jacket .223 rounds from her (his) automatic assault rifle were counted. If you can’t ban these rifles, maybe a couple of thousand dollars tax on the first owners would cause some reconsideration about buying them?
Eric: I’ve wracked my brain over gun mania for years (at least every time there’s another mass shooting). These are the people we grew up with and are otherwise the nicest folks in the world. Somehow they automatically adopt the old anti-comminist “domino theory” about allowing reasonable gun restrictions. It’s very discouraging.
Incidentally, as I traveled in Norway this Spring, I read the Norwegian constitution, a lot of it similar to ours. Guess what? No right to keep and bear arms!
Paul