Roger Meyer

“Pure evil” is how Sheriff Jud Smith described the recent school shooting in Winder, Northeast Georgia. Tragedies like these have become disturbingly frequent in American schools. Each incident is met with tearful interviews from victims’ families mourning their horrific loss, community vigils showing solidarity, and condemnations from federal, state, and local officials. The media is inundated with interviews of parents, students, and school authorities, alongside analyses of the shooters, the weapons used, and the judicial processes that follow.

Human nature is not generally supportive of seeking the truth. People are often strongly tempted to seek only like-minded opinions and “facts” supporting their ideas while dismissing facts that challenge what they want to believe. It is a trap we can all fall into. Many times I’ve heard the statement, “Well, I still think [blank] and you can’t convince me otherwise.” But, is this attitude really good for us?

You may have seen news stories about “mind reading” becoming technologically possible. What was once science fiction is close to becoming reality. Will doctors, law enforcement, and government agencies, assisted by such technology, soon be able to read and interpret our brain waves? Are “thought police” and mind control in our near future?

As parents, we desire that our children grow up to be sensible, mature adults with good character. Everybody grows up physically, but not everyone grows up mentally and emotionally—and spiritual maturity is another matter entirely.

In recent years, a lot of attention has been given in the news, politics, and academia to the notion of “offenses” and “microaggressions” over numerous potential slights, offenses, and “triggers” that people claim to experience. Sometimes it seems as though individuals and groups everywhere are determined to find things to be offended about—and often find them. But is it healthy to be hypersensitive to any perceived offense?