The missive below, entitled “Why?” was written in response to an email I received from my mother several days after a deadly shooting took place in Ottawa in 2014. The attack shocked the country—it was the second terror-related attack in Canada that week, following the killing of another soldier in Quebec. She was struggling, unable to cope or make sense of what had happened, and asking herself, “Why, and how could this happen here in Canada?”
Why do these things happen?
Why? Isn’t that the question we all ask ourselves when we are exposed to stories that make the news, like the senseless gunning down of an innocent soldier on Parliament Hill on October 22nd, 2014? It seems we humans have a challenging time with the question “Why?”. I have engaged in considerable introspective thinking on this phenomenon, and I have read several books that have helped me gain a new perspective, enabling me to stop asking “Why?” in the face of tragedy, horror, and evil. I’d like to share some of that perspective with you.
The truth is, people have been committing horrible, senseless, violent crimes against humanity and nature since we climbed down from the trees. For reasons unknown, our evolutionary path has many of us trapped in an “unconscious” state. The word “unconscious” is key to understanding. By “unconscious,” I mean lacking in self-awareness, being disconnected, desensitized, and immersed in pure madness, but unable to recognize it as “insane”. This is what Jesus meant when he said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do”. It is quite a profound statement, actually. What he was saying is: they are acting “unconsciously”; they are unaware of their actions.
One could ask “Why?” about the following horrible occurrences that take place every day, worldwide. Why are innocent people, including children, murdered, tortured, maimed, mutilated, humiliated, hanged, raped, beaten up, imprisoned, taken into slavery, and I could go on? Why are innocent twenty-something men and women sent to fight wars that can’t be won and end up dying on the battlefield in horrible, painful, and undignified ways? Why are people lined up and stoned to death in the Middle East? Why do certain groups of people believe that their religion is the only “right” one and that all others deserve to die for not subscribing to it? Why did the Nazi’s kill millions of Jews? Why did 911 happen? Why does half the world live in abject poverty while the other half lives in abundance and affluence? Why do some of us get to enjoy all the good things in life, while others starve to death? Why are some people so cruel to animals? Why do Chinese fisherman haul in sharks, beautiful wonders of nature, to chop off their fins and then throw them back into the ocean only to have them torpedo down to the bottom and drown? Why are elephants and rhinos being hunted to extinction? Why do we desecrate forests, oceans, rivers, and lakes? Why do we steal land from Aboriginals to deforest or drill for oil? Why? Why? Why? There is no answer. There is no reasoning to this. It cannot be dismantled logically and made sense of. All these acts are being committed by “unconscious” people. That said, greed and power play a significant role in many of the travesties we see today.
Why do certain groups of people believe that their religion is the only “right” one and that all others deserve to die for not subscribing to it?
The unlucky and the lucky
We hope and pray that tragedy or evil does not come knocking on our door. Some of us are luckier than others, it seems, and there is no rhyme or reason to it. Why are some of us stricken with dreadful diseases? Why did I develop an autoimmune disease at 22 years old that has ravaged my body and has made me suffer for over 30 years? Why did my close friend Paul's wife develop Leukemia and then fall on her face, leaving her blind, partially paralyzed, incontinent, and eventually passing away at the age of 42? Why was another close friend, Vincent, killed in a car accident? And why did another friend, Stef, take his own life? I don’t know. I do know, however, that illness and suffering more often than not push us to grow and evolve. This is what happened to me. My illness forced me out of unconsciousness and into a state of awareness that I may never have experienced otherwise.
Someone I met about 15 years ago suffers from the same autoimmune diseases I suffer from. But on top of that, she has been battling stage IV breast cancer for several years now, undergoing surgeries and countless rounds of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. She has been stricken with all sorts of serious illnesses and complications from those illnesses or treatments. If I've been through hell and back, and I have, she's been there and back more than once. Again, why are some of us dealt such a lousy hand of cards? There is no answer, in my view.
There are hundreds of thousands of crimes against humanity and nature occurring all the time—people just like Cpl. Nathan Cirillo are gunned down every day all over the world, yet we never hear about them. I’m not saying that the event that took place in Ottawa is not significant or that his death should not be mourned. It was important because, for the most part, these types of events don’t often occur in Canada, and, symbolically speaking, it took place in front of a War Memorial, something which seems so distasteful and disgusting. As a result, I suspect that my mother, the daughter of a brave man who fought in World War II, whose pride as a Canadian runs deep, was left feeling like she had personally been violated and attacked. I can remember feeling that way when the 911 attacks took place. I was terrified. I had never seen anything like that or felt it so close to home. However, we only need to look back 35 years or so to remember that Marc Lépine murdered fourteen women and wounded ten women and four men at the École Polytechnique—an event that was witnessed firsthand by my friend Vincent’s mother, who worked at the University where the tragedy took place. And, in 1984, Denis Lortie stormed into the National Assembly of Quebec building and opened fire with several firearms, killing three Quebec government employees and wounding 13 others.
In the US, shooting sprees like the ones in Columbine have become almost routine. Kindergarten children are massacred for no reason. “How can this be happening?" we ask ourselves. We can't answer this. Sadly, as a collective, we are not yet evolved. And, to add to the madness, we must remember that in many instances, people with known mental illnesses—like the gunman who shot Cpl. Cirillo—commit these random acts of violence. So, you have unconsciousness, radicalism, and mental health issues layering themselves and creating a monster.
The world is a dark, dangerous place, and has been for a long time. But there are parts of it that are seeing the light.
It can't all be dark, can it?
On the flip side to all of this, there is some good news. There is a growing number of human beings who are evolved, self-aware, conscious, and who embrace love, unity, understanding, compassion, empathy, and behave with basic human kindness towards all living things. There is a conversation happening right now in the world, and it’s a good one. Will we eventually completely evolve out of the “unconscious” state? That remains to be seen and is certainly several hundred years away. The world is a dark, dangerous place, and has been for a long time. But there are parts of it that are seeing the light. And hopefully, that light will eventually grow and spread. To make a difference, all we can do is live our lives “in the light” each day. We do not need to take up arms or join a movement to bring about change. One person who lives consciously, emitting love and peace daily, will positively influence all they come into contact with. This is how it’s done. One kind act at a time. One person at a time.
Written by Patrick Franc a.k.a. Your Friendly Neighbourhood Bionicman
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