It seems to me of great importance to teach children respect for life. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt.

I will never understand how one person can kill another. This has weighed heavily on me since the disappearance of four young Bucks County men (ages 18-22) and the subsequent discovery of their remains. I did not know any of these men or their families personally, but it did not stop me from shedding a few tears.

By now this story has been splashed across national news – mystery murder in bucolic Bucks County PA. A 20-year-old man and his cousin lured each victim to a secluded farm in Solebury township. I will spare you the gory details, but they can be found on local Philadelphia television channel websites. Each of these young men thought they were going to buy some marijuana. Each met with their demise.

For over a week now details have emerged in news outlets and on Facebook. I don’t know what is more troubling – the timetable of terrible details or the comment threads. People have taken it upon themselves to be judge and jury. Since the men were buying marijuana they have been made out to be drug dealers and derelicts who “got what they deserved.”

As I said, I didn’t know these victims. It is easy to second guess and conjecture, but I subscribe to the “Let ye who is without sin cast the first stone” philosophy. What I do know is that each of them made a poor choice that led to unimaginable consequences. What I do know is that they were sons, grandsons, brothers, nephews, friends. They did not deserve to die for making a poor choice no matter what some self-proclaimed Facebook guru spouts out.

How do we reach our young people? How do we get them to realize that this life we move through each day is not a video game. People kill! They use guns and knives, drugs and words, but is ultimately people killing each other.