The recent history of the United States of America has been plagued by frequent violent outbursts. This has been especially common in schools by students employing firearms. One of the most famous of these events was the Columbine massacre. Even though it was a long time ago, I can still remember it being all they talked about in the news for a significant amount of time. Many people could not believe that such a tragedy had happened, especially at the hand of such young boys. It was a bloody encounter that stayed in the public consciousness for years, including many movies attempting to process it.
There are many faces of evil involved in this happening. Evil as ordinary is perhaps the easiest one to identify, as it was done by people who were all too common, somebody that almost everybody could have studied with. In addition, evil as exclusion is also present, as these kids were singled out for being somewhat weird. Finally, evil as dreadful pleasure is also present, as there seemed to be some sort of enjoyment in the act that these teenagers committed. This seemed to be much related to the lack of interest that they had in their lives. “Boredom arises when people lose their sense of meaning and purpose” (Johnson, 2005, p. 120). In this sense, one can see that there were many aspects of evil at play in these actions.
There were clear signs that there was something wrong with these kids, and authorities and their parents could have stopped these crimes. They could have talked to them, given them counsel, or otherwise stopped them. “Harris and Klebold evolved into killers over time. Their criminal activities escalated from vandalism against those they particularly detested to computer hacking, to breaking into school lockers and a vehicle, to making and setting off pipe bombs, to the final assault” (Cullen, 2009). Nevertheless, the signs were ignored and this great tragedy happened that stunned a whole nation.
One of the main ways to not be deceived by evildoers is knowing that nobody is actually perfect. Often, criminals and people with antisocial behavior attempt to exhibit a façade of perfectness and potency. Nevertheless, it is important for other people to be wary of this fact, in order to not be deceived by them.
Forgiveness is very important because it helps break the cycle of evil. Therefore, it is important to pardon all of those involved in the attacks, and raise awareness so that it does not happen again. By not helping people process the situation, it only becomes worse, as it may lead to even more violence.
In this case, there was very little ethical leadership. There were many people and institutions that could have taken the lead, orienting people towards greater morality. First, Harris and Klebold themselves could have not done the actions. This could have been aided by the parents, the law enforcement officers or the educational institution, as the kids’ morality was obviously failing. Therefore, one can see that it is important not just for each individual person to be responsible for his or her own actions, but for others to try to help the weaker ones as well. In terms of ethical leadership, this is very important, as it does not limit the reaches of morality to just one person, but expands it to other instances.
The Columbine attacks did not just affect two teenagers, but the country as a whole. If there were more ethical leadership in the nation, this suffering may not have happened. Nevertheless, it is important to not dwell on these infractions, but to try to break the cycle of violence through forgiveness.
Reference List
Cullen, D. (2009). Columbine. New York: Twelve.
Johnson, C. E. (2005). Meeting the ethical challenges of leadership: Casting light or shadow. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications.
