Definition of the word “Life”... the ability to breathe, to grow, reproduce etc.; which people, animals and plants have before they die and which objects e.g. stones; do not have. Definition of the word “Death”... the end of life, the state of being dead, the fact of somebody dying or bring killed.
Life is regarded as the most precious thing we have in this world and I personally regard it far more precious than money or anything that money can buy. Just as I know that Death is certain and inevitable and my greatest fear. But I and many other people in this planet always pray for to live for a very long time... to a ripe old age with our minds still intact enough to reminisce about the day when we were young and stronger and ask God for His Mercy in the Hereafter.
I have lost people I loved over the years; my grandmother, my father, a few cousins, a few childhood friends; last time it was the son of a cousin who I held in my arms when he was a baby. He was 17 years old, a brilliant student and a sickle cell victim; even with all we’ve been taught in my religion about how to deal with death; the same thing kept going through my mind on the day of his funeral... Niyi was too young to die. Before him was Sugbomi; a few months older than I was; a sweet young man and a doctor who died from a relapse of tuberculosis. What haunted me was how he died; collapsing under a bridge on the way from work. After thinking about his parents and siblings he’d left behind, I found myself wondering about Sugbomi’s last thoughts before he breathed his last and I wept at the thought of him dying, surrounded by strangers and the same thought... Sugbomi was too young to die. But at least, they died from diseases, not by somebody’s hand. It doesn't make it easier to bear considering how much they meant to the family but we strongly believe in the Hereafter and we prayed God accepts amongst His chosen few.
We all have to die sometime but we never hope to die violently, e.g. a terrible accident or murder. As if terrorists and ritualists here weren't bad enough; we hear in the News about serial killers who just go somewhere with a gun and start shooting innocent people for no reason before killing themselves. Months ago, a crazy man shot a congresswoman, another one shot patrons of a cinema who were watching “DARK KNIGHT RISES”, now the latest was a 20 year old (who allegedly had a personality disorder) young man who entered an elementary school and shot over 20 children; ages ranging from 5-7 years old, some teachers and the principal; another victim was his own mother. I can’t even imagine what the parents are going through right now; their darlings gunned down in the blink of an eye and with Christmas next week- it’s a sad, terrible thing to have happened and personality disorder or not- I curse the sick bastard who committed this atrocity and I hope wherever he is, he is suffering as he has made the families of his victims suffer. If he wasn't gunned down himself, where would he be now; a prison cell awaiting execution or a psychiatric ward? Psychiatrists, I gathered, don't believe in the word “evil”; a mental person is sick and has no idea what he or she was doing at the time thus, the plea of insanity and they are put away until they are cured. They aren’t the ones who have to live in grief and pain over the death of a beloved one. Just like that- there is a solution for the mental illness, there is no cure for the people left behind- except Prayer and Time to give them the strength to somehow move on with their lives after such a tragedy.
I don't understand and can never understand why a person would wilfully take the life of another. Money, Jealousy, Power, Mental Illness... the list is endless. Watching “Criminal Minds” and “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” I noticed most of the killers do it because of one mental illness or the other, which makes them unrepentant and remorseless, which always makes me cringe. Why Adam Lanza killed those innocent people, we will never know. Personality Disorder was his illness, should he be pitied after taking the lives of those innocent children and their teachers, their principal and his own mother? Now there is talk about President Obama issuing stricter gun control laws; but will that make things better? There are other weapons and more evil people out there; who kill for the sake of killing and then are diagnosed as “mentally ill”. You name it, strangulation, fires, knives, bombs! Just how long will that be accepted as a valid excuse not to punish them as they deserve? Seeing the photos of those beautiful children and the teaching staff who were killed breaks my heart and my heart goes out to their families. I pray God gives them the strength and fortitude to bear this great loss and that He gives His Mercy to the slain ones. Life is very precious, yet SO unpredictable that it is frightening. But God is our strength and we must continue to seek His divine protection. Evil people set out to destroy and take away lives. Even if they escape punishment for one reason or the other in this world; there is the Hereafter and God is waiting for them to give His Ultimate Justice.
May the souls of the victims of the Newton shooting rest in peace.
"THOU SHALL NOT KILL"- 6th Commandment
