April 15th was a great day in Boston until two bombs went off at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. There was death and destruction and chaos. There were also some amazing things that transpired.
The first was the amazing heroism of first responders. While so many people were fleeing the bomb blasts it was also painfully obvious that many people had been badly wounded. In the midst of the smoke, the chaos, and debris, first responders were running toward the spot of the blast. They didn’t know if there were going to be more bombs or shooters, or whatever. They ran toward the spot of the blast.
These were police officers, paramedics, fire department folks, a whole slew of people ran toward the bomb blasts. So often we overlook these people and there they were, serving and protecting the population. Civilians did also and lives were saved by the heroic efforts on the part of the people who defied logic and ran toward the danger rather than away. They were heroes of the day.
Secondly, personnel at the hospitals did an amazing job. They were facing a large number of grievously wounded people. Their heroic and skilled efforts kept the loss of life far lower than anyone could have imagined.
Thirdly, the investigative ability of law enforcement was amazing. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev went home and went about their business. Dzhokhar tweeted about the bombings like any other citizen, went to his dorm room, went to class, and went to parties. It really appears as if Dzhokhar and Tamerlan believed they had gotten away with it. They didn’t realize that law enforcement was busily putting pieces of the crime together----and then when they did realize it, the two brothers went into panic mode. A man was robbed of money from his ATM, a 7/11 was robbed, a police officer lost his life, as did Tamerlan. Dzhokhar was arrested, badly wounded, hiding out in a boat in Watertown. Excellent police work prevailed.
Fourth, the leaders of that region shut the city down. They were looking for Dzhokhar but they also believed they needed to keep people safe. Too many had already lost their lives and they did everything they could to protect everyone else, and they were successful.
Were there flaws? Of course. Initially, many news reports were inaccurate. It seems in the age of ‘instant news’ getting the story first is more important than getting the story right. There was a great deal of misinformation broadcast. Thankfully the networks acknowledged their errors and corrected themselves.
For the most part, even politicians behaved. Most had the good sense and decency to remain quiet and acknowledge there was nothing constructive they could add to the national conversation other than to offer prayers and support. A small number of them decided to announce that Dzhokhar, an American citizen, should be treated as an enemy combatant. They have already received too much attention for this bizarre idea and hopefully their words will be quickly put to rest. Thankfully, however, most people in public office have remained respectful and quiet. For this we can be ever thankful.
Something struck me over these past couple of weeks. I’ve was away and striving to grow spiritually and purposely looking for that which is good in the world around us. I have grown very cynical over the years and I’m working diligently to move beyond that. In my travels I had to fly.
Flying requires patience. Going through the TSA lines means emptying one’s pockets, removing the belt off of pants, (risking pants falling down), going through a scanner, and dealing with TSA officials who are often vilified. I found them to be polite and courteous. I saw no one being rude to these officials and I saw no rudeness on the part of any of the officials. When I was asked something I was asked politely and I responded in kind. I saw my behavior as not atypical. It was going on around me. I also realized, while in the plane, if anyone behaved badly, people would no longer ignore the person. Other passengers would rise up to protect themselves, one another, and the plane.
We have, as a nation, adjusted. Our world has changed and it is a more dangerous place. We can bemoan that fact and grouse about it, or we can recognize this as something beyond our control and live our lives. We seem to have adjusted. There are isolated incidents of people behaving badly, but they are isolated.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev killed and wounded many people. I’m only guessing, but somehow they decided they were going to devastate Boston and mortally wound a nation. Boston has proven to be stronger than the two brothers ever imagined and the nation goes on. Tamerlan is dead and Dzhokhar is in custody and in a hospital bed, badly wounded. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev failed to bring a city to its knees. And to me, that is the ultimate piece of good news in all this.
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