April Is the Cruelest Month

Maybe we should shut the country down for one week in April each year. From the 15-22nd, perhaps, or the 16th-23rd. This month marks the saddest days in American history. Yes, I know, April bore the beginning of the American Revolution, but it also holds the anniversaries of the Waco siege (April 19th), the Oklahoma City bombing (April 19th), Columbine (April 20th), and the massacre at Virginia Tech (April 16th).

As we know, the timings for these events were not haphazard. The Oklahoma City bombers cited Waco as the inspiration for their actions, and the boys at Columbine chose Hitler's birthday to wreak havoc on Littleton, CO. 168 people died in Oklahoma in 1995, including 19 children. It was the largest act of domestic terrorism this country has ever seen. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 12 high school students and a teacher at Columbine, forever stripping America of the notion that their suburban schools were safe. Those boys wanted to do more damage--they wanted to blow people up.

We focus so much these days on international acts of terror that we forget the capability our own citizens have of creating devastation and horror. September 11 will forever live in our consciousness, but let us not forget those that perished at the hands of Americans. It was so hard to watch CNN yesterday. I was crying, and in this jaded time, not much moves me to tears. These students, young men and women on the verge, were murdered in cold blood and we were helpless. The anger and bile that rises in our bodies at the thought of this tragedy are necessary for action. Let this remind us what April has taught: We are never as safe as we think.