Let Your Heart Break

As you may know, a member of the Canadian Forces (Cpl. Nathan Cirillo) was shot and killed this morning in front of the National War Memorial in Ottawa.

Now this blog is not a news site so I am not going over the details (you can get more information here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ottawa-shooting-soldier-dies-of-injuries-gunman-also-shot-dead-1.2808710)

I actually would like to talk about ignorance.  Specifically, I received a phone call today from someone who was upset about the shooting (rightfully so) and in one of their classes someone made the comment "Well this happens in other countries every day."

So?  Why should that make this any less tragic?  Somebody has died.  I've talked about it before, this callous attitude is destroying us.  When we choose not to care, we choose breed ignorance.

We lost something today.  We lost something more than a life.  Today we lost our freedom in the brief moments that we lost the right to choose.  Today Canadians were forced to run and to hide and to fear.  And although we reclaim our freedom it comes at a terrible price, the price of a life.  A life that was worth something, a life that was significant and meaningful. 

What happened at Parliament Hill should break the heart of every Canadian.  It should break the heart of every human being.  I am not expecting that we all collapse into tears (but it's 100% ok if that is your response).  I am asking that we stop.  Stop for just a second to mourn.  Let's stop to think about what this means for everyone in uniform.  Let's stop to remember that Canada is our home and today there is a deep sadness in our home.

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