No Man Is An Island by: John Donne
No man is an island,Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thine own
Or of thine friend's were.
Each man's death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.
I watched the hunt for the suspect in the Boston bombing all day long. The TV was left running as I went about my work. Then, as I watched the final surrounding and surrender, my feelings and thoughts surprised me. Pity, concern, now they can treat him....
What? I was shocked at my reaction because I had also felt the deep anguish and pain for the carnage of human lives. Nothing can erase the agony of those left alive who lost loved ones and who were maimed. What about the terror imposed on neighborhoods as the police forces went door to door--the all clear was announced--and this kid was still there? The cost was overwhelming right down to the mundane dollars spent. Once again the face of America will change.
I can only explain my feelings at the end of the manhunt as "hiumanizing" this figure of evil into a 19 year old kid. He became a person--no matter how horribly twisted and perverted into the worst of the worst. He was hunted down like a rabid dog because he had acted worse than that, something sub-human. But he was human in my gut and that's where my feelings must have come from.
John Donne captures it: "every man's loss diminishes me." The humanity in me connected with his humanity...all of us are linked together. The bombs killed a part of us, wounded all of us. Donne was saying that until we are all freed from hate and terror--the terrorist and his target--we are all bound up together. The only way out is to pray for all of us. Yes, I said that--all of us.
I can also share the waves of sheer respect and affirmation for the police and security personnel on all levels. I saw a community freed from terror. I could stand in the crowds and shout for the joy of being set free.
But still I return to Donne and to the prayer that one day we will no longer need security and then we shall be truly freed--"and there will be no wars or rumors of wars" and "there will be peace on my holy mountain."
What? I was shocked at my reaction because I had also felt the deep anguish and pain for the carnage of human lives. Nothing can erase the agony of those left alive who lost loved ones and who were maimed. What about the terror imposed on neighborhoods as the police forces went door to door--the all clear was announced--and this kid was still there? The cost was overwhelming right down to the mundane dollars spent. Once again the face of America will change.
I can only explain my feelings at the end of the manhunt as "hiumanizing" this figure of evil into a 19 year old kid. He became a person--no matter how horribly twisted and perverted into the worst of the worst. He was hunted down like a rabid dog because he had acted worse than that, something sub-human. But he was human in my gut and that's where my feelings must have come from.
John Donne captures it: "every man's loss diminishes me." The humanity in me connected with his humanity...all of us are linked together. The bombs killed a part of us, wounded all of us. Donne was saying that until we are all freed from hate and terror--the terrorist and his target--we are all bound up together. The only way out is to pray for all of us. Yes, I said that--all of us.
I can also share the waves of sheer respect and affirmation for the police and security personnel on all levels. I saw a community freed from terror. I could stand in the crowds and shout for the joy of being set free.
But still I return to Donne and to the prayer that one day we will no longer need security and then we shall be truly freed--"and there will be no wars or rumors of wars" and "there will be peace on my holy mountain."
Tonight I pray for Jesus to carry that young man home to healing in the most ultimate of ways--and with him, those he killed and maimed, and lastly to carry me home as well.
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| Suspect leaves in ambulance |
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