A Statement from Starhawk on the Las Vegas Tragedy

My heart is breaking for all the families and loved ones of the victims of Las Vegas, for the lives cut short and the creativity, love, joy and beauty that those who died will not now get to experience.It’s human nature, in these moments, to ask why—to want a motivation, a sense of some sort of reason. If we can identify a reason, we can exert some control over future events, or so we think.  But we don’t know why.  Or rather, we don’t know the specifics of this ‘why?’.

There is a larger ‘why’ when we look at the epidemic of mass shootings and random violence—even beyond the easy access to weapons that against all rationality and instincts of self-preservation we continue to provide.

A society works when we have a social contract, an understanding of a base level of care and mutuality and responsibility for one another’s well-being, when we have a structure of common beliefs and values and an understanding of what it is to be a decent human being. A strong social fabric provides a structure that can hold people together when their internal structure breaks down.

That contract has been broken.

We no longer agree on what’s true, what’s valid, what’s decent, or what’s important.  We are steeped in lies and corruption and falsehood coming down from the highest levels of power.

In the face of all that, in the aftermath of the killing sprees and the denial of the environmental catastrophe threatening us all, I say that to be a decent human being is to care for something beyond your own self-interest. A decent human being cares for others, does not blame victims but takes responsibility for easing suffering and sharing burdens, and speaks the truth, even to power.  A decent human being feels empathy for others, and acts from love.

We saw many examples of courageous and selfless behavior in Las Vegas.  Let us remember that, and take some hope and solace in these challenging times.