The definition of evil

We will never forget Newtown. The unspeakable horror and the events of that day left this nation speechless and hopeless. Although nothing will top the horror of that day, the Boston bombings during the 117th Boston Marathon — where an eight-year-old boy lost his life — have filled us with the same sentiment.

The sporting world has changed forever. Just as traveling by aircraft has been forever changed in this country, security at sporting events will never be the same. And we better get used to it because this type of thing will continue as copycat nut jobs filled with hate have been given insidious inspiration.

This type of thing can never be prevented completely; that’s the truth of the matter. We live in a free society and our liberties are taken seriously, but the reason why these types of attacks on our way of life will never end has nothing to do with giving up liberties and freedom and everything to do with hatred and opportunity.

The opportunity will always be there for those that hate. People will always congregate and where people congregate — opportunity to kill and maim presents itself. In the name of God, King, Country, and Cause, there are those that butcher men, woman and children.

And so shall it ever be.

Law enforcement, federal authorities and government agencies have to be perfect every day in order to prevent these types of terrorist attacks and nobody is perfect. As former Tempe mayor Hugh Hallman said, “Terrorists need to be lucky one day, law enforcement need to be lucky and good every day.”

So what do we do?

Refuse to be broken. The answer is that simple. We dig our heels in, square our jaws and refuse to be controlled by those that would harm us or destroy our way of life. We remain vigilant and aware but we must never allow ourselves to live in fear. When that happens, terror has won.

Evil is alive and well in the 21st century and that evil wants to alter who we are and how we live. We need to prepare our hearts and minds for more of this and understand that it can get much, much worse.

Flying airplanes into buildings and setting off bombs during a marathon are horrific occurrences, but we tend to believe these terrorist acts can only happen in high-profile cities like New York and Boston. But are we ready for suicide bombers or bombs like what we saw in Boston to start detonating in convenience stores, pharmacies, restaurants, parades or county fairs in Smalltown USA?

My definition of evil has always been to take something that is beautiful and make it ugly. Our way of life is beautiful. At the core of every terrorist plot is the desire to take life, love, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and make it ugly.

And that certainly applies to what happened in Boston.

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