Monday, April 15, 2013

What are we doing?

With utter dismay I see that people are being maimed and killed by people again - now in Boston, at an event that should be a celebration of our humanity.

The sequence of events that I expect to see unfold has already begun and that scares me more than the bombs and the guns.

First, on social media, we see our initial reactions to the tragedy. We respond with horror and disbelief. We tell the victims that our hearts go out to them, that we are praying for them, that we are so sorry for what they've had to endure.

In a few days will come the candlelight vigils, prayer meetings, and gifts.

Then we'll have fundraisers so we can send them money.

We may even have a law or two enacted that deals with some aspect of the disaster - maybe they will outlaw waste receptacles on public streets because bombs can be hidden in them.

While I don't doubt, for even a second, the sincerity of our responses, I have to ask - what are we doing? Is this our best effort? Are we doing these things to make the victims feel better or to make ourselves feel better?

What if this had happened in Derby on our own Greenway during an event? What would you want to see happen afterwards?

There is a place for kindness and support, and resources are required to help those that have been subjected to such horrible damage, but that is not the solution to the problem. We must do more. We have to do more. Frankly, I'm frightened, aren't you?