web1_heimel-paul-BW.jpg

Paul Heimel: State should increase pay in lieu of taxes for forest land

web1_duffy-tom.jpg

Dallas School Board questioned on safety/evacuation policies

<p>As a global community, it seems we still don&#8217;t get it.</p><p>Perhaps it emanates from some compelling need to place blame after tragic acts such as this weekend&#8217;s shooting in Orlando that left 49 dead and more injured. .</p><p>The massacre and the unfortunately long list of similar acts show just how increasingly intolerant and violent this nation is becoming. By putting on a mask of rhetorical anger, we try to convince others the motives are noble.</p><p>Most people will never go to the extreme of harming another. But every seemingly minor thought, action or transgression against someone because of their race, religion, sexuality or beliefs permeates into this bubble of discord that eventually cannot be contained.</p><p>These are frightening times, and there is nowhere safe from a madman&#8217;s grip.</p><p>There is a false comfort in attributing a cause to things that sometimes are nothing more than the manifestation of some twisted individual&#8217;s dark mind. But it becomes an obsession to find a culprit, as evidenced by the shameless flurry of agenda-pushing news releases that came out as the victims were still being counted in the shootings at Orlando&#8217;s Pulse, a gay nightclub. Groups promoting gun restrictions blamed guns. Those opposed to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender lifestyle put the fault on those in the nightclub for daring to be themselves. Anti-immigration supporters used it as an illustration of what happens when others are allowed inside the United States&#8217; borders, despite the reality that the killer was born in the U.S.</p><p>Shame on those who try to compartmentalize tragedy.</p><p>Gunman Omar Mateen, 29, fired into a crowd before being killed by police after a three-hour standoff. News reports indicate Mateen called 911 during the attack and pledged his support to Islamic State.</p><p>Whether the group had any role remains unanswered and, although it appears he had no real connections to the terrorist scourge, it quickly became the loudest of the sound bites and furthered the din of anti-Muslim sentiment.</p><p>Hate begets hate, and it appears more likely that Mateen&#8217;s own sick vision of right and wrong was created from his instilled disdain for homosexuality. That warped morality became a faulty rationale for someone, once again, to kill those who represented something with which he didn&#8217;t agree.</p><p>We have to learn that it is OK to have differing viewpoints. We should have the ability to open discuss and even debate those differences.</p><p>The line between respect for human life and dignity gets pushed back. We seem destined not to learn from the past just how deadly the venom of self-righteousness can become.</p><p>Hatred is the weakest of emotions. It is cowardly and uncontrollable.</p><p>Tolerance and understanding are much harder lessons to impart. It shouldn&#8217;t take the lives of 49 people &#8212; it shouldn&#8217;t take the life of even one person &#8212; to give us reason to reflect on what we are doing, individually and collectively, to stop this from happening again.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_Orlando.jpg">
<div class="neCaption"></div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_Orlando.jpg</photo0><caption0></caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>

Our Opinion: Orlando massacre shows that hate begets hate