Valentine’s Day just passed, and I hope you had a loving one. Whether your day was filled with flowers, chocolates, dinner out or in, hopefully, you were able to celebrate with someone you love. On this one day set aside to honor love, even if you did not celebrate at all, if you were safe, you were more fortunate than some.

For some in Kansas City, love was not enough. On a day set aside to honor the most recent Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs, gunmen opened fire, killing one person and injuring twenty-one others, some critically. By the time this blog is read, those numbers may have changed.

I have wondered before what circumstances make a hero and a criminal. I wonder about that again. Of course, there is no easy answer to this. There is sometimes mental illness involved in those who commit terrible crimes. But that is not always the case. Some people do terrible things, even criminal things, who are not mentally ill. Some people commit such actions who are just mean. “Mean” does not seem like a strong enough word for someone who commits terrible acts of violence. Let’s call this person contemptible.

I am not really trying to answer this question that begs to be answered, even if there are no simple answers to the question. And I am not really making the Kansas City parade the reference point to this question. There are numerous examples of horrific actions caused by contemptible people. What I am questioning is what place love plays in how we turn out.

What is love, even? We just celebrated the romantic definition of love. But romantic love is not the kind of love that makes us feel safe. Romantic love is not the kind of love that keeps us from hurting others.

I am not generalizing violence caused, even in part, by a lack of love of any kind. I am only wondering if there is a connection between love, nurturing love that makes us feel safe, to treating others with love, not hate.

What does love have to do with it? A question without an easy answer. But definitely a question that needs exploration.