Sadness, reflection and infamy

     I had thought I was going to write about a number of political issues but now they seem better suited to the back burner after the tragedy in Aurora, Colo.  My heart goes out to the people and families affected by the actions of a deranged, sick human being that seems, at first lance, to have no political agenda, no beef with the theater and no real connection to the film.  It has been reported that he had dyed his hair and claimed to be "The Joker".  An individual that seemed to confuse reality with entertainment.  Almost points out what I wrote about last week. 
     We, those of us in the Arts and us older folk have fathered a generation that accepts what they see on the big screen, small screen and the laptop as fact.  Assuming that if it is on the Internet it is true.  I heard a statement in a popular TV show that "If it is on the Internet it must be true. They wouldn't allow it on there if it wasn't."  Seems laughable but too many of our children and grand children actually believe that.  Don't feel too bad about that.  Not too long ago there was the phrase that if it was written in "The Times(New York) it must be true.   I am old enough to remember that.  Go back even further and the radio show "War of the Worlds" narrated by Orsen Wells had the impact that people jumped off buildings rather than be captured by the invading aliens from Mars.  Only because they didn't hear the disclaimer at the beginning of the show.
       The actions of this mentally ill individual that hurt and killed so many, that changed the lives of millions of people, that saddened a nation, that made us all feel less safe is more than unfortunate and makes me ill every time I think about it.  My heart says no punishment is too extreme, but my head says we must consider him ill and not not motivated by greed or revenge or any of the accepted reasons for heinous actions.  And, the film, just like "War of the Worlds" will be for ever remembered as "the movie where that guy killed all those people."  is the legacy of this work of art.  My heart goes out to all those that were in the theater that night, my thoughts are with their families that will have to live with this tragedy for the rest of their lives.  My hope is that with time, they and us will not forget, but that with time the pain will ease and we all can move on and the film will get the accolades it deserves as a work of fiction.