In the aftermath of the awful tragedy in Aurora, the focus has shifted away from the coward who did this and onto the heroes and miracles that came out of this horrible event. None of us know what we will do when faced with terror and how we will react. While it is truly hard to find a positive note in what happened, I am warmed to see the media focus has turned more to the amazing and heartening stories of survival and bravery.
I read recently that family members of the victims and residents of Aurora do not wish the name of the shooter to be mentioned but for the lives of those taken from us far too soon to be remembered and honored. The media while has still given some attention to the evil individual has in some degree complied and focuses on some truly amazing stories of bravery and honor.
I've read about 3 men who died protecting the lives of their girlfriends. Jon Blunk, Alex Teves, and Matt McQuinn all had to make swift decisions in the face of danger. These man died in bravery and should be remembered for these honorable acts. While I am sure each of their girlfriends are eternally grateful, I am sure they would trade anything to have these men back. Hopefully in their grieving, they will feel comfort knowing these men will forever be remembered for acting with courage in a moment of absolute fear.
There was another story I read where a man who was at the theatre with his son and his son's girlfriend who he had met just one other time. He barely knew this girl but when the shooting started and she was hit and injured badly, he stayed behind to help her and cover her from getting hit again when the shooter started heading towards them. There was the woman who's husband is still in a coma who gave birth to their child a few days following the event. There was the girl who basically saved her best friend's life when she stayed and plugged a wound. There is the girl who was shot in the head and had a bullet in her brain that miraculously traveled through a birth defect channel and thus cause no damage.There was the individual who was shot and still helped a fellow victim out of the theatre. The stories are countless, people who stayed behind to help other, people who faced danger and had courage and risked their lives in the hope to save others. These stories are what this tragedy should be remembered for.
A story like this while breed out of evil shows how good still conquers all. Ironically the individual who carried these acts out fashioned himself to be a villain like the Joker in "The Dark Knight". In that movie, the Joker ultimately believed that when dealt in a moment of desperation, human beings would be selfish and would value their own lives over others. In a pivotal moment towards the end of the film *Spoiler Alert*, residents on a ferry out of town and crooks on another ferry both rigged with explosive devices are given a decision to blow the other one up and save themselves. The Joker felt that both would immediately act and blow the other one up to save their own lives. When both made the decision to let the other live , he was confused and baffled. In this moment off tragedy, the human spirit and good prevailed. We ultimately do care for one another and will be courageous to help others when faced with a difficult choice.
So don't forget how awful this event was but also please remember the stories of bravery and love that came out of it. There is good in this world and while evil may briefly succeed, ultimately it will only showcase further how much good there truly is in this world. This Friday for my "favorites" I'll link to some of these stories so you can read for yourselves.
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