That is heart breaking and indeed it is a good thing to have one's heart broken by tragedies such as this. Between the increase of population and the increase in 24 hour news media it appears as though this sort of thing has become rampant, maybe it is getting worse or perhaps we are now just more aware.
It saddens me to think about the childhood my children have had as opposed to the one I had. We were told to "be back before dinner". Now kids can't hardly go out at all without mom or dad arranging a "play date". That has completely changed the way children learn to socialize.
The world is changing and it is not necessarily for the better. My belief is that human nature is essentially selfish and, left unbridled, becomes evil. I am not aware of a single child that had to be taught to be selfish or egocentric. As another example, look how quickly people devolve into their selfish nature when the constraints of civilization are removed. It is the responsibility of civilization in general and parents specifically to instill a sense of compassion and love in our children and to encourage that in adults.
Thank you Gary for bringing this pain to our attention. It is heart breaking and is more important than what kind of snare drum this might be or who is the better drummer. As the founder of the world wide charity relief organization World Vision once said: "Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God." Whether one is a believer or not, that is an excellent tennet by which to live one's life.
