Mass Effect

It's terrible how massive an effect a mass murder can have on a community. As i continued reading Columbine the reality hit me hard. A larger portion of the deaths occurred within the first 5 minutes of the shooting. Just 5 tiny minutes. So that's like me jumping in the shower and then getting out to find that my friends had been brutally murdered. All these people were just going to high school having an average day before Dylan and Eric, the shooters, decided to initiate their sadistic game. Dave Cullen does a phenomenal job of portraying the players and the victims in the story. He specifically mentions the names of those who were murdered, and indicates the emotions felt by their families and the ones who loved them. He illustrates the importance of those who were murdered to those who cared about them. Not only that, but he depicts the mourning of the loss of Eric and Dylan, the killers. Eric and Dylan had many friends at their large high school in Denver. Eric had always been worried about maintaining social status in the hierarchy of Columbine High. All of these friends of Eric and Dylan were shocked by the news that their friends had operated a mass murder in their own high school. The friends were both shocked, and afraid, because they knew that they would be suspects in the operation. Just for being friends with Eric and Dylan, they were at risk for being suspected in taking part in the conspiracy. Families were called by their children immediately after their safety was ensured, as the effect of the murder spread across Denver. While the shooting was taking place, the media tried to televise the happenings, and police and SWAT forces from across the community were sent in to stop the cataclysm. The event affected the community first, and then the rest of the nation.

The vituperative quickness of the event should make people think about how terrible it is to take life for granted. One minute you're living your daily life, and the next, it's all over for you. Even a simple 5 minutes can mean the difference between life and death. For this reason, we can never take a second of our lives for granted. I'm speaking for myself too. I've taken so many things for granted that it's hard for me to forgive myself sometimes. Maybe we get multiple chances at success in certain areas of life, but we only get one chance to live. And while we're living here, we might as well leave our mark on this Earth.

Columbine-Dave Cullen (Nonfiction) Pages 3-111