Why?

“What separates us from the animals, what separates us from the chaos, is our ability to mourn people we’ve never met.”  - David Levithan, Love Is the Higher Law

I can't seem to come up with a reason for the bombings at the Boston Marathon yesterday.  No one has claimed responsibility so there is no point-of-view from which to try and understand why it happened.  If it wasn't about religious zealotry or some convoluted political view, what could it possibly be about?  Targeting marathon runners, their families and supporters doesn't send a message I can even pretend to understand. 


Like everyone else, I am inspired by the actions of the people who were present at the bombings and those who live in the city.  It wasn't just first responders who selflessly jumped into action at great personal risk.  There are wonderful stories being told today of ordinary people who committed extraordinary acts of bravery from the young man who threw himself on a woman and two small children after the second bomb because he feared there would be a third, to the runners who tore the shirts off their backs to apply as tourniquets to save the wounded.  And then there are the thousands of Bostonians who offered meals and beds to those who had been displaced by the closure of twelve city blocks and could not return to their hotels or apartments.


Beyond these things, I was impressed with the restraint shown by much of the media.  I have seen few reporters or pundits jump to conclusions about the source of these attacks.  In the coming days, we will find out who was responsible.  Whether it was at act of foreign religious fundamentalists or home grown political nuts, three people will be just as dead, 150 people just as injured. 


In time the city will heal and maybe even become a little closer, a little more loving in the process. They will be scarred and maybe even scared but they will heal.  I'm praying for them all.