As many Americans are getting ready for Thanksgiving, I am glued to the TV watching the horrific news from Mumbai just praying that this will be over already. People are still being held hostage and dying. I have enough trouble with war where soldiers fight soldiers ... but killing innocent and defenseless people is absolutely appalling. It has always been and continues to be so senseless.
I grew up with it. My first memory in life is war. Being able to leave the bomb shelter when I was 3 and playing on the lawn of our apartment with my Barbies. Then, the sirens would start and I was back in the bomb shelter. I remember so much about it. I grew up with terrorism.
When I was 7 there were death threats against my family because of the job my dad had. My sister and I went to school with a bodyguard. The other parents didn't want us in their school because we posed a threat to their children. I can fill pages of my memories of terrorist attacks that were close to home from my teenage years to my time living in downtown Jerusalem when I was in grad school.
And now, I sit in the comfort of my living room cooking potatoes for Thanksgiving and getting ready to head to Sheila's and I feel so sad. I've been crying. This is just awful that anyone is going through this. It is organized and people were caught unprepared. They were having dinner and drinks. Their crimes were being American, British, Jewish, western, well to do ... why else would they hit 5 star hotels?
I am afraid that this is just the beginning. I want peace. I want no more poverty. I want to see a world where we build and create. I want it with all my heart. But I doubt I will see it in my life time. I want to see teens seeing Slumdog Millionaire rather than seeing Twilight five times. Their parents facilitate them seeing Twilight over and over but stop them from seeing real movies that deal with serious life issues. So they can recognize how good they have it and try to make the world better. I am always happy to hear when young people want to make a difference and have an impact.
CNN is still blasting away with news. While I have been writing this, I have missed over 800 tweets and retweets. I pray for all the victims and their families. May you need see any more evil and sadness. Hugs to everyone.
Amen
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