It only took a few hours after the ringing in of 2025, that senseless tragedy took the lives of 15 people and injured many more in what has been determined a terrorist attack in New Orleans. We had just celebrated jubilantly with the hopes of peace, an end to violence, a coming together of people with different opinions, and that we could move forward into the beginning of a better future for all of us, but in just a few hours, all those feelings changed abruptly, violently, and tragically.

The sentiments we have said, and heard, so much in the last couple decades, and even longer, like, “When is this going to stop,” “We pray for the victims and their families,” and “This hate has to come to an end,” and so many other sad expressions uttered in sad, tragic circumstances like this latest incident of senseless violence/killing, are beginning to become as common as saying “Good Morning,” or “How’s the weather?”

As many people have expressed their disdain for the hate some people here, and abroad, have for our country, our freedoms, our ways of life, etc., and yes, it is perplexing, it is a wonderment full of whys, it is sad, disheartening, and anger provoking, but in many ways, it’s also hypocritical.

As social media sometimes does, it invites people to exercise their First Amendment right of Freedom of Speech to voice their opinions, and many times, just say what they feel, without thinking. Shortly after the news broke on New Year’s Day of the tragedy in New Orleans, there was a post on Facebook of a picture of President Biden with a comment indicating that his tragedy was his fault. I find that a statement made without thinking first.

Before anyone wants to brand me a supporter of one side or another, I am a registered Independent, I vote my conscience, I try and outweigh the good and bad qualities and records of the leaders I would like to see in office, because I feel they will do the best for those for whom they are supposed to be working, the people. Sometimes I, like many others, am a victim of candidates who say one thing when they are campaigning, but then become someone else after they take office.

With so many people outraged at the hatred behind tragedies like New Orleans, it appears like there is a lot of hatred right here in the “Good old U. S. A.” Look at what our political system has become. It seems to be a civil war, not being fought by the Blue and the Gray, but by the Blue and the Red. You can’t tell me that there isn’t hatred within that war. No, they are not firing weapons at each other, but there appears to be a lot of attempts to hurt people in other ways in the halls of government across this country. One side tries to discredit individuals from the other side, then the other side fabricates and slings mud at the first side, etc., and while a lot of this doesn’t result in loss of life, it sometimes results in a loss of livelihood and the attachment of an unfair reputation branded on a member, or members of the other side. And what is behind all of this? It appears to be hatred and jealousy. And what seems to be behind so many of the terrorism happenings against the USA and other countries? It appears to be hatred and jealousy.

Looking also at crime in our own country, how many crimes that happen on the streets of cities, towns, and/or communities in our own country, are hate crimes? Quite often, you can’t pick up a newspaper, and/or turn on television news without hearing of antisemitism hate crimes, be they racial, ethnic, religious, sexually orientated, or politically motivated too. And what seems to be the reason for these crimes? Often, it’s hatred or jealousy.

How many school shootings has this country experienced since the turn of the century, and even before that. How many drive-by shootings, or movie theater shootings, or mall shootings, or bank shootings, or Post Office shootings, or even McDonalds shootings have we woken up to hearing about since the change in the millennium? How many have died from all these senseless acts, then compare that with the number of casualties of 9-11. Think, then, about how we have developed such hatred and resentment, and have blamed an entire religion for 9-11, rather than the small faction of that religion, believed to be responsible for 9-11. If we hate and resent foreigners, and don’t hate or resent those in our own country who are guilty of the same crime, even though it might be by different means, we are living by two different standards. (Personally, as naive as it sounds, I’d like to see the world be rid of hate altogether.)

It appears we are often too close to the forest to see our own trees. We seem to be so busy trying to be angry at the rest of the world. Maybe we need to look at our own country, in between the international acts of violence, and try, in our own country, to stop what we don’t like, that other countries and/or groups are doing to us.

Anger breeds hatred, hatred breeds violence, violence breeds tragedy, and tragedy is what happened on New Year’s Day a couple weeks ago, and yes, my thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families.