Tag: Aurora

So much for funny Friday. I woke up to the news below. A crazed gunman methodically and systematically slaughtered 14 young people and wounded 50 others at the midnight opening of The Dark Knight Rises. He had multiple weapons and used tear gas to disorient his victims before murdering them. It was clear that he planned this well in advance. The authorities have not released his name or any details about his motive. I’m going to go out on a limb and guess his background. I bet he is a 20 year old white guy. We will find out he was a loner in high school. He never had a girlfriend and had few or no friends. His parents are probably divorced. He doesn’t have a job. He’s felt alienated from society and has been living in a fantasy world for years. Somebody probably assessed his mental state within the last two years and concluded he was a danger to himself and others, but the system did nothing. In retrospect, there will be a list of clear signs that he would eventually go off, but no one wanted to get involved.

I think his choice of this movie was purposeful. He didn’t choose Hangover 2. He chose a movie about alienation, pain, societal collapse and darkness. This was done as a statement about our increasingly degenerative society. People communicate on electronic devices. We hole up in our houses or apartments, cut off from human contact. There are evil villians sucking the last vestiges of wealth from the lowly serfs. The anger, pain and disillusion are palpable throughout society. People are confused. They can’t figure out the enemy. Government can’t protect you. Government is the main reason for this alienation. The kneejerk reaction of the liberal dogooders will be to ban guns, as if guns caused this slaughter. Banning guns will not stop the slow methodical decline of our society. It is much larger than guns. It is our entire culture. Materialism, greed, selfishness, profit at any cost, isolation, lack of personal responsibility, and delusional willfull ignorance have overwhelmed our country.

Fourth Turnings always reach a climax when those on the perceived side of good have a final showdown with the perceived side of evil. We are likely a few years from this showdown, but there is no guarantee that good will vanquish evil. A revolution is on the horizon. Everyone will need to choose sides. There will be no one allowed to stand on the sidelines.

My son and his friends went to the midnight premiere of The Dark Knight Rises last night. He arrived home safely. My heart goes out to the mothers and fathers in Colorado whose children will never return.