Yesterday, April 15, 2013, the Boston Marathon was bombed.
One of the great monuments to international cooperation and athleticism was ruined. People’s lives were lost. The tribute to the families involved in the Newtown massacre was sullied. And we as American people are faced with another terrible event in the long list of tragedies that have plagued us over the past year.
I’m an outspoken, unabashed leftist. One of the core tenets of my chosen political ideology involves the idea that war is unnecessary, that there is always a peaceful solution to violence, no matter the situation. But I admit it’s difficult to believe in peace when I have relatives and friends living blocks away from the site of the latest attack on American soil.
Attacks like these shake our faith in human goodness. They test our faith and our will. But I implore you to not let the acts of a few evil men drive us to respond in kind.
Look at the images of brave first responders rushing to the side of the wounded. Listen to the stories of marathoners running to the hospital to donate blood for the wounded. _This_ is what we should focus on.
However, I’ve already seen racist, Islamophobic messages from people on Twitter — people who are confused, just looking for some rhyme or reason to tragedy. That is one of the most awful residual effects of tragedies like this. They can move us away from being an accepting, loving society to a distrustful, racist one.
John F. Kennedy was spot-on when he said, “I look forward to a great future for America – a future in which our country will match its military strength with our moral restraint, its wealth with our wisdom, its power with our purpose.” He was speaking of an America where we think before we act, where we don’t let acts of terrorism goad us into unwise decisions, where we don’t let the urge to seek vengeance cloud our sensibilities. After 9/11, we were quick to go to war in Iraq, quick to pass the PATRIOT Act, and quick to imprison people in Guantanamo Bay, often without charging them with any crime.
A close friend of mine who happens to be Muslim texted me minutes after the attack, worried about the victims of the attack, but also worried that response to these attacks would bring out the ugly racism that was ever-present after 9/11. I can’t imagine having to worry about family in another city not just because of an attack, but because of what their fellow Americans might do in response. We as a society are better than that.
I encourage you to turn off your TV and get off of Facebook and Twitter. Don’t watch the coverage — neither you nor I need to see 16 different takes of the same graphic, horrible video, or the latest botched report by 24-hour news network X. Call your parents. Spend time with those you love. Revel in everything that is wonderful about humanity, and keep those in Boston in your thoughts. And most importantly, don’t forget — the answer to violence in our world is always, _always_ more love.
