PeterS wrote:
How funny. So the only way mass shootings bother you is how they disrupt your television viewing for the day? I once argued with Blade Runner on how Conservatives in general lack empathy. You just made my argument for me...as sad as that is to say...
I am what the well crafted book calls a man "of steel and velvet," a man with a brain, a heart and a soul. A man or a woman must develop and maintain a balance between the mind and the heart, between the intellect and the emotions.
When the intellect and the emotions are in balance, when neither is the dominant force, the two are compatible, like Faith and Reason they compliment each other, reinforce each other, they work together in harmony to affect our decisions, our reactions, our judgements, and our actions. Facts and feelings determine the existential course of one’s journey through life. And without the silent witness within to nourish and guide the emotions and intellect, if either dominates, things go haywire very quickly.
If I had been unable to keep my emotions and intellect relatively balanced, I would never have been effective in the profession of saving lives and property (firefighting). I have been there, up close and personal, an on the scene witness to human tragedy. The pain and loss were undeniably heart breaking, and many times I allowed my emotions to relieve themselves. I cried when we could not save the lives of a mother and her baby, and I was overjoyed when we saved the lives of two young kids trapped on the second floor of a burning home.
But during the fight to win or lose, we had no time for either emotional responses or intellectual evaluations. We depended solely on judgements and decisions gained through our training and experience. Win or lose, after the fight was over, we could talk about it (intellectualize), we could laugh or cry (emotionalize). But in the heat of battle, we went in concerned only about the people who needed us. No firefighter I ever worked with, except one egotistical captain, were mindless or heartless fools. We had a job to do and we did it to the best of our abilities. Thank God that we won more than we lost.
The senseless killing of those innocent people in Texas weighs heavy on my heart. There is nothing I can do for them now. Maybe had I been at the WalMart with my CCW in my wallet and my 9 mil on my hip, I could have done something to stop him. I surely would have tried.
I could tell you what you can do with your lack of empathy argument, but admin would delete my suggestion.