Yeats asked us to cast a cold eye on life and death. America prays, drowning in grief after every incident, but refuses to accept the simple truth: fewer guns will mean fewer deaths. That arithmetic is too much for a nation addicted to tragedy. Kirk had once argued that American campuses were no longer safe for people who held non-liberal views. He was right, when it came to debate. But it was the nation’s obstinacy that ultimately took a bright young man’s life. And in any sane nation, that shouldn’t be worth it.