George Rebane
Today there have been many observances and rembrances of the explosion at the 2013 Boston Marathon that killed three, injured over 260, and blew the limbs off 16 of them. People were gathered at these planned events to celebrate their “show of defiance and resilience” in the face of this tragedy. NPR this morning assured us that nowhere would the source and purpose of this disaster be mentioned. It was to be a focused and positive city-wide celebration of healing, of how tough the citizens of Boston could be when confronted by such unstoppable natural disasters.
On this day we will not revisit the real cause of those explosions; neither will we examine the event’s larger context. We will not speak of the global terror that radical Islam spawns. We will not speak of the constant killings that are committed in the name of that religion, and the cultures it grounds worldwide (14apr14 Abujah, Nigeria – 71 killed, 124 wounded). We will not speak of the ignorance and hate that are taught in its madrassas. We will not speak of its age old and ongoing treatment of women as sexual and reproductive chattel. We will simply think of such occasions of medieval murder and mayhem as we would of any other incomprehensible act of God. And there we will be in complete agreement with the Islamists, because they too believe they are carrying out acts of God.
That we no longer nurture or care for our own beliefs may be the surest sign that our culture has no beliefs to care for and defend.


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