Shots that were heard around the world

I am sure you have heard about the Campus shooting at Virginia Tech University in the US and the lost of 32 innocent lives. It was senseless and cold-blooded. Senseless, because these people have done nothing to deserve this abrupt end to their lives. Cold-blooded, because these people were at a familiar place, doing the familiar thing with the familiar people -- they were at school. Supposedly a safe place, anyone would say. However, it was not so, at least not in the US. What are your views on this issue? In this post I will share my views on this horrifying incident. To begin with, how was it possible that it was so easy for a guy to walk into a gun store and in a very short time purchase all that was needed with few questions asked? This is the big question that boggles the mind of many Singaporeans. The Straits Times article revealed some appalling statistics: that for every 3 Americans at least 2 own a gun! When the store owner who sold the guns to Cho was interviewed, he simply said that Cho passed all the checks, without a trace of remorse. He even suggested that if other students were to have had guns on campus, they would have been able to defend themselves! The right to bear arms in the US is worrying many parents from different parts of the world. This will not bear well with the US education business. Some parents are going rethink and reconsider their choice of overseas education. This is not the first campus shooting. If the US government had reverted the right to own guns after the last campus shooting, these 32 lives would have been saved. Is the US government going to do anything? Judging from history, probably not. What lessons can we learn from this incident that has happened so far away from us? First, we can be thankful for the wisdom of our government. No one has the right to own arms. Law and order is maintained and we live in a safe environment. While we enjoy this safety, it is also our responsibility to ensure that this safe and secure environment is continued for our future generations. Second, and more importantly, is the need to accept the foreigners in our midst. There are many students in our midst who have come from various parts of the world. It will do Singaporeans good to accept them and help them to integrate with the new environment. Not that the loners are going to shoot anyone, like the lonely Cho, but we will benefit if they feel accepted and welcomed here. Many of these students are very capable and intelligent, like the ones in my school. If they choose to stay on in Singapore and continue to work here and contribute to our economy, we will all enjoy the benefits of a growing economy. Besides, some of them may even help us establish business connections with their home country. Like it or not, we are interconnected and interdependent on each other.