Each and every day when news of a bad situation occurs, the first thing many folks, especially the mainstream broadcast media, want to do is find blame for the situation.

Regardless of what happened or how many people were injured or killed, for some reason there always needs to be someone or something to blame other than the person responsible for the deed.

When a deranged gunman opened fire in a Charleston church killing the innocent folks during a Bible study, many wanted to blame the Confederate flag for causing feelings of hatred in the shooter.

When another young man killed four Marines and a sailor in Chattanooga, many in favor of gun control jumped on the bandwagon. They seem to want to blame the availability of guns on the killings.

Again, last weekend in Louisiana when an Alabama man killed two young people in a movie theatre, one of the first remarks made was that he had purchased a gun legally.

All of the deaths and injuries were acts committed by humans- not by a flag and not because of gun laws. The question that always comes across the television screen is what caused the perpetrator to commit such heinous and brutal acts.

Many times the culprit’s spouse, parents or friends are even blamed because they failed to see what was happening in the lives and minds of the person committing the horrible acts.

Maybe they were bullied in school and this was their revenge, which seems to be a popular defense.

While there are instances where the person committing the terrible acts has mental issues and problems, many times the true reason seems to be evil. We want to find reasons as to why or how someone could commit such horrible offenses against their fellow man, and the real reason is evil has taken over their lives, both mentally and physically.

Just as darkness is the absence of light, so evil is the absence of goodness. If a person does not want to fill their lives with love for their fellow man, but rather hate, evil will take over, and events such as those occurring more and more frequently are happening in our country and in the world.

If a person chooses to fill their minds with hate and evil, Satan himself can take over and push the light completely out, and the ruler of darkness has another victim.

We all need to be in prayer for the victims’ families and the families of the accused, because loss and devastation occurred on both sides, and we should pray that the light of God fills the hearts of those struggling with evil in their lives before it is too late.

Randy Garrison is the president and publisher of the Hartselle Enquirer.