and the lifelong suffering of family and friends
Editorial: Terrorism in Boston — we’ve been here before
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Katherine Taylor/The New York Times
Carlos Arredondo, who aided victims after explosions at the Boston Marathon, holds a bloodied American flag.
Published: 15 April 2013 08:05 PM
It was a moment celebrating the things so many of us hold dear: sportsmanship, competition, community. People cheering, multicolored flags from around the world flapping in front of a blue-sky backdrop, runners triumphantly reaching the finish line. A perfect day at one of America’s iconic sporting events, the Boston Marathon.
In a flash, and a column of smoke, all of it disappeared. Screams replaced cheers, carnage overtook accomplishment. Fifteen seconds later, another explosion two blocks away. And three hours later, a somber American president was standing before TV cameras, vowing justice.
Haven’t we been here before?
Two bomb blasts in Boston. Unspeakable loss of life, unthinkable casualties. And too quickly, a sometimes-forgetful and too-often-divided nation is reminded how much there is holding us together. Among the most potent binders now is a yearning for answers: Who’s responsible? Are the terrorists domestic or foreign? Why here? Why now?
Few facts emerged immediately after the tragedy: multiple bombs set in strategic places. That implies planning, with the possibility of more than one perpetrator. Anything beyond that is pure speculation.
But the word “terrorism” is now on our lips. And we need little reminding that we have been here before.
We have instant flashbacks to what we lived, and what we learned, from a similarly blue-sky day on Sept. 11, 2001.
We know that terrorists always underestimate who we are. That we are stronger than any single act of terror. And that we emerge from attacks stronger, not weaker. What we know is that every such act of violence against innocent Americans reminds us that we are the United States. Sometimes, in this loud chaotic democracy, we can forget.
Perhaps, in a country riven by the passion of politics, such an attack might help remind us that the politics of gun control and immigration are not what really defines us. And that those issues are certainly not insurmountable.
You see, we’ve been here before.
We know that those of us in Dallas, and Miami and Los Angeles and Seattle and St. Louis, will stand with the people of Boston. We will hold hands and light candles; we will send assistance and prayers.
We will grit our teeth and ramp up our vigilance. And we know that those who will be investigating this horrific act will do it even more efficiently and with greater tools than they did 12 years ago.
We know. Because we’ve been here before.
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