America has spent the last seven days trying to make sense out of a senseless act.

In the wake of the tragedy in Littleton, Colo., people have searched for reasons. They've searched for something to blame. They've searched for answers. And, as people so often do, they've tried to find simple answers to very complex problems.

Many have used this event as a platform to discuss political and social issues. Some have pointed to the need for stricter gun control. Some have called for armed security guards and metal detectors in every American high school. Some have implicated rock music as a possible cause. Some have blamed violence in the media and video games. Some have addressed the need for better parenting. Some have called for instituting school uniforms. Some have called for stricter regulation of the Internet.

These are important issues and do deserve discussion, but they are all merely Band-Aids for a larger problem. The massacre at Columbine High School wasn't just an indication of a school problem or a societal problem. It was an indication of a human problem, one that seems to be a part of our nature. It is the problem of intolerance.

From the day we are born, we are placed into categories, into groups. Male or female. Rich or poor. Black or white. Gay or straight. Intelligent or stupid. Strong or weak. Christian or Jew. Pretty or ugly. Serb or ethnic Albanian. Jock or freak. The categories are sometimes unfair and often a poor representation of the people that they contain, but their existence can't be denied.

Think back to your own high school. What were the divisions there? Were there jocks and preps and skaters and nerds and stoners and freaks? Was there animosity between these groups? Columbine was no different than the majority of high schools in America. This literally could have happened anywhere. It could have happened in your high school or mine.

Cliques and social divisions exist in our high schools because they exist throughout society. High schools simply have become a microcosm of the larger society in which they exist. I've heard a lot of discussion in the past week about how cruel kids can be and it's certainly true. High school can be hell for a lot of people. But kids can be cruel simply because people can be cruel. The problems in our high schools represent the problems in our world.

It seems to be a part of human nature to divide ourselves into these groups. After all, our differences are a part of who we are and it's natural to gravitate toward a group with which you share some common ground. But all too often these groups show hatred and intolerance toward one another. And sometimes this intolerance leads to the sort of violent outburst we saw last week. It has been reported that the gunmen at Columbine idolized Adolph Hitler, one of history's most tragic examples of intolerance.

The young men who committed these horrible crimes felt as if they were victims of the intolerance of their classmates. They banded with others who felt like outcasts and further pulled away from the social circle and isolated themselves, leading only to more intolerance and taunting. But rather than rising above this intolerance, they chose to return it with intolerance of their own, and the results left 15 people dead and a nation in shock.

As I watched the horrible events at Columbine unfold, I wondered how this could be happening again. I wondered how the parents felt, the terror of not knowing whether your child was dead or alive. I wondered what could drive anyone to this. Then, as I learned about the social structure of the high school, I thought about how similar it was to my high school and so many others across the country. I wondered if this tragedy would cause changes. Would cliques overlook their differences and come together? Or would this just lead to suspicious looks at the freaks and outcasts and further isolation and intolerance?

It's relatively easy to change laws and policies, but it's more difficult and more important to change people. Our differences always will exist. Racial and ethnic divisions always will exist. High school cliques always will exist. The only thing we can change is our attitude toward these differences. We can lash out with intolerance toward other groups. Or we can teach our children and ourselves respect for one another, tolerance of our differences and empathy for our fellow man.

Why can't we all just get along? I don't know the answer to that question. I'm not sure there is one.

This column is dedicated to the victims at Columbine High School and to the victims of intolerance everywhere. Comments are welcome at bk247496. Waste of Ink appears on Tuesdays.