>>but alas, there have been posts this morning blaming the columbia disaster on the fact that there were minorities on board, now I see my fellow freepers blaming it on Abortion (i.e. God is punishing us...) <<
Other than that idiot Joyful here, I haven't seen any of those and I certainly join you in the sickening feeling if that is the reaction anywere here at FR. I was staying with the original 2,000+ post and saw only compassion, tears, some good scientific analysis, and angry reactions from those of us who checked over at DU and were amazed at the evil which lurks there.
Sometimes it is hard to tell the extreme Right from the Islamofascists from the moderate (much less extreme) Left.
I guess I risk being ridiculed for this, but I'm of the position that we all deserve worse than we get. In other words, we all deserve the wrath of God, since we've disobeyed him and ignored him and refused his affection. So we deserve his anger, manifest in tangible ways.
Instead, day after day we find ourselves blessed, recipients of his kindness. Instead of continual retribution for our hard-heartedness toward the Creator, He treats us mercifully and graciously.
Perhaps we should be more surprised when good things happen to us, and moved to thankfulness when good things happen to us, than to be surprised when painful things happen to us....
Our question should be, "Why do good things happen to bad people," not the similar and more commonly asked question....