Tuesday, April 16, 2013

No More Hurting People

I have been toying with what I would like to say about Boston.  Facebook and network news have already covered the horror of it all.  There are no suspects or motives to discuss as of yet, which one newscaster described as "a nod to coordinated professionalism."  Also well-covered is the resilience of emergency response teams as well as civilian camaraderie, a notable reminder of American and human spirit.  Therefore, in order to contribute to the conversation, I would like to comment on a feeling I've heard discussed only briefly, namely the creeping feeling of familiar tragedy.

If I could be so presumptuous as to describe the national sentiment, it would be that in addition to our sadness, there is a sense of melancholy and fatigue that comes from routine.  We will never be used to terrorist attacks, but perhaps we are not so wide-eyed as we were twelve years ago.  That many runners reported knowing a terrorist attack had occurred after hearing both blasts, is a testament to the world we live in.

Other countries know this feeling well.  Names like Baghdad, Beirut, and Tel Aviv have been tossed around in the last 24 hours as analogies are drawn to cities that experience terrorist bombings.

Muddying the already tragic waters, is the communal understanding that there is no clear way forward.  That we don't know who is responsible makes a targeted response impossible for now.  However, even if a group  is deemed responsible, what happens next?  To rid the international and national soil of the weeds of hate we have to pull up the roots.  But the pursuit of this goal has cost us on many levels and may only be sowing more seeds of future hatred.  On a more logistical level, is it really possible to secure a large-scale public event?  How much privacy and freedom of movement should we give up in the name of security, if any?

I, for one, am tired of watching my country reel from tragedy every few months, in one American town or another.  This fatigue does not condone any and all actions America chooses to take, nor does it deny the tragedy of loss of life in other places.  Indeed, many have pointed out that the U.S. is far from innocent when it comes to perpetrating violence against civilians.  Trading acts of injustice may be a demonstration of cause and effect, but it is not inevitable.  Committing acts of senseless violence against civilians is still a choice, one that is void of justification.

However this story ends, there is only one way out.  No more hurting people.