I’m sure you all followed the morning-to-afternoon story yesterday: A manic news reporter arrived on the scene of his coworker’s interview with a local businesswoman, pulled out a pistol and opened fire. It was a genuine murder and it was captured live on local Virgina television. Of course, this being the 21st century, it immediately found its way onto the internet where the rest of the nation, and even the world, was able to see the dark deed be done.

 

Even more incredible is what happened next.

The gunman, having murdered the news-reporter and her camera man (and wounded the interviewee), fled the scene and went on the run from the police. While doing so, he began to tweet his motives in an attempt to justify his crime. He also released a video to his facebook page (again, he did this while on the run) that showed a first-person view of the murder being committed.

It represented the absolute nadir of the “me” generation and the obsession our culture today has with sharing everything with everyone else because we arrogantly believe people care what we are doing every waking moment. In this case it wasn’t someone taking a picture of their breakfast, or sharing the latest selfie to their facebook wall, it was a cold blooded, calculated murder, followed up by a live-tweeting session chronicling the inner thoughts of the killer himself.

Following it online, for me, was surreal.

Prayers go out to the family of the victims and to everyone affected by this crime.

In addition I pray for the culture around us. I’m worried that the killer’s “first person video” of his murder will become a trend that other criminal’s will emulate. I fear that our society is getting so self-absorbed that even our criminals are compelled to share with their followers all their violent misdeeds. What we need is a dose of humility.

Some of us apparently need it more than others.