but I must say I disagree. Yes, horrible things happen all over history and the globe today that make you sick. Just like you said, these things happen because people make choices. I do not believe in a predetermined destiny, but that doesn't mean there isn't a reason for things that happen. If you look at these events, it's fairly easy to extract reasonable lessons from them. For example, let's take the example of the Holocaust. Humanity has the propensity to be extremely cruel and brutal, but perhaps humanity needed an example of what can happen if we don't think for ourselves. It showed what happened when you let strong emotions such as bitterness and resentment (first with the Treaty of Versailles in WWI, then kristalnacht and the burning of the Reichstag to fuel the fires of Nationalism) run your thoughts, and when you put someone who tells you you are justified in having those feelings in charge of your every move. It's a reminder that if we don't exercise our will, it is no longer ours, and the human race fails.

As for babies drowning, outrage flows when an act like that is committed, and may perhaps make parents more attentive towards their own children, grateful they are alive. It also raises discussions of proper parenting, an area that is incredibly lacking in today's society.

As for Genocide in the present day, it's a chance for us to make a difference, to educate people in impoverished nations and let them know it doesn't have to be this way. It's a chance for us to go out there and learn how to love one another.

Like I said, I respect your opinion, and it's terrible these things happen, but without pain, how can one experience joy?

*edited because I accidentally put WWII instead of WWI, but I think you all understood me.

I can see totally where you are coming from. The example of the Holocaust is perhaps the best example of your argument. I think, however, that no matter how dire the situation is, it just seems that things do fall into place at some time. You can look at it in a situation such as a fatal car wreck. When that person dies, there is no doubt that the situation is terrible, and looks as though there was no reason for that person should have died. But however the person was an organ donor, and their heart went to a person that is in dire need of that heart. Although the death of the driver cannot be looked at in any sense other than tradgic, the result was that someone else recieved new life. There was a kid in my hometown that drove into a lake because the sign directed him into the docks. It was dark, cold and slippery, and had no chance of surving in the freezing cold water. And though his death made all of us think how terrible it was that he died, and how young he was, the parents went all the way to the statehouse and got a law passed that prevented the sign from directing people into the lake. I know this doesn't compare to genocide, but it kinda does. Genocide is terrible in every sense. Sensless, ruthless, cold blooded murder is sickening, and makes me feel the same way that you do. But I look at all the people around the world that forget about their petty material lives, and strive to save those who have no defense. I have pretty much rambled on so I will leave you this. Just think outside the realm of immediate shock and dismay, and most times positive things usually come out of it. It is very hard to do, but it seems to me that everything does happen for a reason/

I can understand how one would see it this way, and I respect your opinion, but I would have to say I also disagree. This is actually what my "This I believe" paper was about. You have a good point by talking about the Holocaust, murder, rape, and all the bad things that happen in people's lives; however, I think these things occur to teach us so they won't happen again. People learn from their mistakes. As for the Holocaust, I was actually just talking about this in my sociology class last week (I’m going to go off topic a little bit). We watched a movie about an experiment about obedience. There was a teacher and a learner. The learner had a list of words to memorize and was quizzed soon after. If the learner got it wrong, the teacher was supposed to shock the learner when a supervisor told him to do so. They found that even though the learner kept getting it wrong, the teacher continued to keep shocking the learner because the supervisor told him to do it. The teacher was worried about hurting the learner, but the teacher continued to shock the learner because he was being told to by the supervisor. When the Nazis were put on trial after the war, they were asked why they did this and there answer was simply, "Because I was told to."
I think some bad things happen in life so other good things can occur. I can relate to the car accident victim story because a boy also died at my high school last year, and his organs were donated so another person could live. I think it’s just one of those things where I believe that God has a plan for everyone and sometimes bad things happen to good people. No one knows why they happen. Yes, people have free choice and free will, which can stop bad things from happening, but going back to my example from sociology class, if someone is ordered to do something they usually will, especially if the order comes from a higher authority.