The hits just keep coming and coming.

            Shooting innocent people, especially children, is becoming an acceptable response to disagreements, whether they are real or imagined.

            That must never be acceptable to anyone, anywhere.  We must never rejoice in violence, and an unjustified cause of death must never be celebrated.

            What drives people to plot, plan, and pick up a gun to take a life because they disagree with them?  What are the warning signs that may help prevent it?

            Perhaps social media posts condemning those with opposing opinions, and some even calling for murder, are a spark that ignites the extreme measures in some people.

            What can we do to dedicate ourselves to building a less violent society?  We can, and must, control our behavior and words.  We can't, and shouldn't, control others; only encourage it by our example.

            Back in the 1960s our nation witnessed the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Rev. Martin Luther King, Robert F. Kennedy, and Malcolm X. We lived through it without the hate expressed in current events.  Somehow we learned to get better.  

            Can we do it now?

            The First Amendment of the United States Constitution is there for a reason. We should be able to voice the opinions that we have.  Expressing your opinions should not carry the death penalty for you or lead to a level of hate that could rise to it.

            When tragic events like these happen, what causes people on social media to write messages hailing it, or others to verbally express their glee in another's tragedy?

            Words are like bullets.  Once spoken you can't pull them back.  So be careful of what you write or say.  Take some time to reflect on your words.  Watch for current updates (not on social media) from trusted news sources.  What you are about to say or write could be (and usually is) not totally correct and you end up looking the fool. Or even worse, the hater.

            Can civil discourse be revived?  Murder should not be the answer for expressing your beliefs.  The inability of people to live with disagreement grows stronger each year.

            Why are the fingers of haters so quick to blame the extreme left or the extreme right as the cause of the tragedy?  Conspiracy theories (a hunch or a guess) abound over each tragic event.  Remember that they are theories, usually unproven, coming from someone who feeds on their audience believing or spreading the lies.  Don't be duped by them.  

            Remember that when you point your finger at someone, there are three pointing back at you.