It always comes down to it: a man with a gun. This is the American terrorist. He has no religion. He doesn’t kill for God. He just kills to kill.

The bloodbath at Virginia Tech: red blood on red state soil, tears, sorrow, prayer and vows “to never let it happen again.”

What will we hear next?

The mercy of Jesus, the inhumanity of man, the right of Americans to own firearms, the influence of Hollywood, violent video games, angry teens, mental illness.

What will we do to stop the madness? Are your children safe at school? What are the signs to look for when someone is ready to kill?

College: an open place of open ideas, as vulnerable as a sleeping infant in a crib to the lone madman.

But still, we don’t kill as productively as Iraqis. We may suffer this once every ten years, but this is what they go through every single day.

Yet what we choose for our nation, and the DNA of our national character, will eventually be dramatized in how we murder each other.