Death has loomed large for me and others in the last week, for reasons that are likely obvious.
The Boston Marathon massacre on April 15 was only the latest reminder of the value of the life with which we are blessed. But it was certainly a potent one.
I share the emotions felt by many of the commentators I’ve read in recent days regarding that tragedy. They are universally outraged – for good cause. That I’m a fairly devoted runner myself simply increases my anger over the cowardly act perpetrated by whoever planted those shrapnel bombs – suspected to be two immigrant Muslim brothers.
If you’ve ever been to a road race, you’ll know that it is a celebration of optimism. When people speak of the “runner’s high” (which actually exists), it’s pretty evident at a fun run – particularly when it’s over. Even at a short run, such as a 5K (three miles), many participants have put forth plenty of effort to get there. They may be running to support a friend or to raise awareness or funds for a cause. They may be rewarding themselves for many hours spent working themselves into condition. Spectators are there to help their runner(s) finish the race and celebrate the achievement.
At Boston, this celebration was shared by many of the residents who live between the finish line on Boylston Street and the start in Hopkinton, 26.2 miles (and several hills) away.
Immediately after the blasts, like many others, one of my first thoughts was “Why? What’s your beef here?” I’m angry – and, I think, righteously so.
An 8-year-old boy, a young woman for whom the marathon was an annual event, and an ambitious Chinese mathematics student were slain – all while simply there to watch. Other innocent spectators’ limbs were blown off. People for whom this was a momentous life achievement, who spent countless hours and considerable energy preparing to participate in the oldest and most famous marathon of them all – had their dreams shattered.
Frankly, I wonder if a public hanging would not be appropriate for the perpetrator(s). It won’t happen because our “civilization” doesn’t do things like that, but it would send a message that this is not OK and there are appropriate consequences for barbarous violence.
Amid the negatives, though, what was beautiful to watch was the common grace evident in the grisly aftermath of the barbary. It wasn’t just the cops and firefighters who rushed to the scene. It was runners, who had been exhausted minutes earlier as they crossed the finish line after 26.2 miles over the Massachusetts hills.
It was local Bostonians and other spectators who ran toward the carnage instead of away from it, offering, as one commentator put it, “cell phones, water, jackets, rooms for the night, internet access or just hugs.” It was people who kept helping even when explosions continued.
In all of this, we must remind ourselves not to jump to conclusions here. Just because the guilty may use prayer rugs does not mean everyone who uses a prayer rug should be regarded with suspicion. Not every Muslim is a fanatic, by a long shot, just like there have been millions of Christians who haven’t gone on crusades or stood outside funerals with signs bearing messages that, at the very least, are tasteless under the circumstances.
We need to let law enforcement officials continue to do their work and pray that justice is well-served.
Though my next observation might seem to be an abrupt shift and I hope I’m not being callous in making this point, I believe it deserves consideration – though also painful.
That is the murder trial of Philadelphia doctor Kermit Gosnell, who is accused of homicide in the deaths of one mother and seven babies in what a local grand jury described as a “charnel house” – a filthy abortion clinic that served largely poor and immigrant populations.
Besides the details, what’s been disturbing about this story, at least until very recently, is the almost total absence of attention from mainline news organizations, despite the fairly significant elements of the case. While I hesitate to attribute all the ills of the news media to “liberal bias,” as many do, this case suggests exactly that – or at least extremely short-sighted news judgment.
Gosnell, in trial testimony, has been accused of using scissors to snip late-term aborted babies’ spinal cords – at least one of whom was actually screaming as it was removed from the womb, collecting babies’ feet in jars and leaving parts of fetuses on shelves, among other atrocities. That is horrific enough, but the hypocrisy behind the whole late-term abortion controversy – indeed, the abortion debate in general – to me is also deep.
If a doctor kills an unborn baby, it’s abortion and no one but right-wing “extremists” care. But if someone shoots an unborn baby in the womb, it’s big news, even if judges (based on Roe v. Wade) can’t rule that the victim is a person. A fetus really has no constitutional rights until he or she arrives home from the hospital, as Sen. Barbara Boxer has stated, but if you or I destroy a bald eagle’s egg, we are subject to penalties of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Are we hypocrites? When an 8-year-old gets killed by a rogue bomber, it’s eminently newsworthy. When an unborn infant is killed by a doctor, it’s just another abortion.
Yes, this is uncomfortable. Reflecting on this reminds me of “Amazing Grace,” the movie about Parliament member William Wilberforce’s campaign against slavery in Great Britain in the early 1800s.
The clear discomfort displayed in the faces of his colleagues (granted, these are actors) is the discomfort I feel and why I believe many of us are reluctant to think logically and honestly about what is really happening in our abortion mills.
Do we truly value human life? If so, why do we, as a nation, have to redefine it simply to maintain our self-centered convenience?
Life is complicated and our failings contribute to that. We are a nation of grace – we are still capable of self-sacrifice in the face of danger – but we also have discomfiting failings that ought to drive us to our knees in more than vigils for victims.