This Is Not News

I just do not have the mental energy to even look at the news to comment. But it occurs to me that at 10:30 yesterday, my students and I were discussing whether moral theory can tell us anything about the idea of self-sacrifice, or why we feel that it is a praiseworthy act when someone risks or gives up his or her life in order to preserve the lives of others. I dearly wish that these had been merely theoretical questions for the students and teachers at Virginia Tech. Some lessons do not need to be put into practice.