Bridge of Silver Wings 2023

       Not far from the scene of the Boston Marathon bombing, a toddler kneels before a
memorial to the victims of the atrocity.  (Photograph by Jim Bourg and Reuters)

For those so inclined, it was and is natural in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing to share prayers and thoughts for healing on behalf of victims and their families. Many have conditioned themselves to respond in such a manner partly because it is within their power to do so and partly because they hope others would feel moved in the same way toward them if they were the ones whose bodies and sanity had been shattered so brutally.

Victims, after all, within the context of terrorism––whether homegrown or imported––are much like newborn innocents simply because they have not signed up for a war. In this particular case, they had simply stepped out into the light of day intending to honor, preserve, and celebrate a long-standing tradition. Some might argue (and in fact some do) that America, like much of the rest of the world, should have become accustomed to such atrocities by now. But the greatest defeat of all would be to embrace mayhem as an acceptable norm.

Or is it possible denizens of the world have already done exactly that? The U.S. Senate’s choice to reject legislation requiring background checks and other gun control measures for those purchasing firearms would certainly imply that is the case. They are fully aware of what is likely to occur in the absence of such checks and yet they refuse, even as the memory of the Sandy Hook massacre remains fresh in so many minds, to apply them.

The Brothers Tsarnaev

As right and natural as it may be to turn one’s hearts toward the wounded and murdered, it is also necessary to pray and hope on behalf of those who have come to believe so fervently that violence is the only solution to their perceived grievances with the world. This is not to say that those such as the young brothers Tsarnaev, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar, as well as others responsible for heinous crimes should be “spared the full weight of justice,” as Barack Obama put it.

But it is to say that faith in destruction as a means of expressing dedication to life can only intensify a kind of insanity of which humanity is obligated to heal itself. The only remaining option is to live in a state of perpetual preparation––mentally, physically, and spiritually––as individuals and as nations for the next round of carnage induced by broken-souled human beings.

For the full article by Aberjhani please click this link:
Staging a pre-emptive strike on the mind of terror – National African-American Art | Examiner.com.