It’s incredibly horrible what happened in London. It’s hard to find words to describe it. It shakes me to the core to think that there are people who feel they have the right, or perhaps even the duty, to take human lives for the sake of their cause. I don’t understand any kind of radical fundamentalism that becomes so imbedded into the fiber of your being that you’re willing to commit the ultimate crime against humanity just to make your point.
I don’t want to take away from the horror of what happened – my heart truly goes out to all the families who have to live with the consequences of this act. But I just have to ask a question… did anyone pay attention the last time there was a suicide bomber in the middle east? Perhaps it happened again this week – does anyone know? And, while I’m at it… did anyone hear how many people were killed by the janjaweed in Sudan this week? No? I didn’t think so. I don’t know the answers to those questions either.
I guess my point is that in areas of the world where violence and terror have become commonplace, the media barely bothers to tell us about it anymore. And even if they DO tell us, we tune it out. Not only that, but you won’t see the most powerful leaders of the world lining up in front of the cameras talking about the war on terror when it’s Sudanese people dying by the thousands. But when it happens on our own soil, or the soil of those people that we most closely associate with, it’s the only thing we can talk about.
Yes, it’s horrible that someone bombed the subways and a bus in London. But let’s not forget that there are other people dying needlessly in other parts of the world too. And some of them are dying at the hands of the countries represented by those powerful leaders lining up in front of the cameras. Perhaps, as we gather in mass outrage against the travesty in London, we can save some of our energy to consider the other travesties. Not only in London, but in Sudan, Iraq, and numerous other places in the world, mothers have lost their sons this week, babies have lost their fathers, and peace continues to remain illusive.