A young couple was shot as they bid good night to one another Tuesday night in City Heights, 10News reported.
Carla Aguiar and Adrian Acosta were hugging one another outside her home when a single bullet was fired by someone in a passing car. The bullet pierced the girl's chest before it hit Acosta in the heart. Witnesses said Acosta picked up Aguiar and walked back toward her home before collapsing on the sidewalk. He died at the scene.
After reading this story, and wondering what could be done about the situation, I realized that there's only one truly effective solution: a change in cultural values.
Though many have tried down through history in various ways, cultural change can't be legislated — it has to happen one person at a time. I believe we have a greater effect on our relatives, friends and neighbors than we sometimes realize.
Adrian's mother said that her son was not a troublemaker and always came straight home after school. Whether or not this is the full story (we know how kids can sometimes hide their behavior from their parents), we'll never know. We can, however, be certain of one thing: a breakdown occurred somewhere within the moral structure of several families in that community.
It's everyone's individual responsibility to reject bad behavior wherever we encounter it, even (and especially) among family members.
If we each hold ourselves to a higher moral standard, sooner or later the people closest to us will begin to want our acceptance and approval more than they want to satisfy their baser and, in some unfortunate cases, evil instincts.
A sad story, yes, but hopefully one that will encourage our resolve to make positive change within our families and communities.
