Even with leaders who inspire and appeal to our better angels, even with strong gun laws, wicked things will happen. But we also know with better leaders, who offer more than just thoughts and prayers, we can have far fewer days like Saturday October 27th in Pittsburgh or days before in Newtown, Orlando, Chicago and too many more.
We are not powerless in the face of hate. There are a millions of steps we can take, big and small, to make our world a better place. The important thing in the wake of a tragedy like the massacre at Tree of Life is that we take those steps; that we reach out and do more, not retreat further. Hate wins when our world grows smaller. Love wins when it grows bigger.
Yes, get out and vote. In every election, next month, next year, and every other time. But do not stop there. Find some way, find your way, to build connections in your community. Our modern lives too often keep our heads down in a screen and our minds distant from the world immediately around us. That might be by design, but it’s also a choice. Choose better. Choose to volunteer. Yes, when tragedy strikes. Yes, around the holidays, but find other days as well. Help someone who thinks they are on the fringes or in the shadows know that you see them and their value too.
Finally, demand more of all our institutions - government, business, media and more. Lies must be called lies. Disagreeing over policy is one thing, using propaganda to stoke hatred and fear something far different and more dangerous. Knowingly or not, we have allowed our global world to fray and fragment the ties that bind our communities. The President, his supporters and enablers saw those fraying binds as an opportunity to exploit and tried to rip them clean apart in hopes of winning an election. I can imagine nothing less patriotic.
Tragedies are horrible. We can avoid and limit them with better leaders, stronger laws and community bonds, but we cannot eliminate them all together. What we can do is control our response. If the memory of the eleven congregants of Tree of Life is to be a blessing, let us use it to grow our world bigger with love and compassion. Let us respond to hate with hope. Let us build community where others would build walls. Let us find power in our secular creed - e pluribus unum, out of many one - and let us beat back any effort to tear that one apart.
Ben Downing represented the westernmost district in the Massachusetts Senate from 2006 to 2016. He is currently a vice president at Nexamp, a Massachusetts-based solar energy company, and an adjunct faculty member at Tufts University.
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