Universal Pain by K. Denise Holmberg
Orlando, Florida Like me, you’ve probably shed too many tears watching the evening news. Only a month ago Orlando, Florida was drenched in blood. Yet, it was pushed far back in the news with gunshots, screams, and explosions shattering the mundane act of checking-in for a flight at Istanbul Ataturk Airport, Turkey. Turkish Flag That has just as soon been forgotten as a large truck plows through a holiday crowd in Nice, France inflicting more senseless slaughter. These random acts of violence create loss for all of us, regardless if we personally know the name of someone murdered or maimed. We suffer the loss of peace and a sense of security. We wonder if we can dance the night away in a nightclub, go to the airport, or watch fireworks with our children without ending up in a body bag. Some call that the purpose of radical Islam. I call it pure evil. So what do we do with this universal pain? My knee-jerk reaction is to