Saving Stray Cats, and Stopping Mass Murders

WHEN I FIRST REALIZED that I was far more upset over the disappearance of a neighborhood stray cat than fifty mass murder victims, I was filled with self doubt and loathing, but only for a little while. I got over it fast. In this world, it really pays to have that ability. This is an era for successful, thick skinned people. Only the emotionally hardened survive. The stray cat, a pretty male with a friendly disposition, was part of my life, in my own back yard. He would show up every few days, apparently seeking a home. Cats, in my experience, have an uncanny way of sensing where they might find a home. And yes, I think they want a home, I don't think they prefer to stay stray, there is something hopeful they sense about humans, even though they can get by for long periods of time on their own. Amazing, beautiful creatures. I wish I shared their willingness to trust and the hope they have for humans. The mass murder, on the other hand, was just another mass murder in another part of the country, just routine these days, par for the course, our American societal norm. When I saw an animal control truck cruising through my neighborhood I was filled with dread, but a couple days later I thought I spotted my pretty friendly stray male from a distance, so I had renewed hope. I continue to cling to that hope. Maybe he'll show up again, and maybe I'll take in stray number five. The other four are doing quite well, living with me. Without me, they'd most likely be dead by now, and without them, I'd still be lonely. Instead, we are one big happy family. What sense of hope are we to derive from the mass murder in Orlando? We can't hope that the dead, like some stray cat, will come back to us, but can we do anything, other than have more of our eternal, boringly repetitive moments of public silence? You'd almost think that we could diagnose our "civilization's" illness, whatever it is, horrendous that it obviously is, and start to heal it. But alas, such a course seems to elude us. If nothing else, at least we could take in more stray cats, and do more for those who remain stray, and on their own. Would it really harm us or cost us to show a little humanity, towards someone, if only stray cats?