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Paris... |
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| by Craige McMillan |
| The shattered lives. The pain, anguish, anger and rage of surviving family members and friends. The fear of the survivors, later to turn to guilt and grief over someone else being murdered in their place. What will they do with their life? How will they make amends?
The poet John Donne reminds the world that "No man is an island." Far more true today than it was in his time. In that sense, the Paris terror will affect all of us, often in ways we do not yet know. A major city, a public event, those directly affected by the loss of a loved one could live anywhere in the world. Then their friends and family, and so on and outward, as human thoughts and feelings travel over the web of life. The impact of death and mayhem gone viral in the real world. I guess that's why they call it terror. Here is the entire poem. Don't be afraid. It's short:
There will be demands for solutions; promises of never again. Do not believe them. Human-devised solutions are inadequate; perhaps even worse. They will be enacted only for show. It is not within the power of politicians or nation states to fix. The solution, like the problem itself, is not of this world. Governments will enact laws; tightening the noose around the necks of their own citizens. Terrorists will plot their next move. Nations will continue to believe they have solutions. The next attack will prove them wrong. We have entered the end game. Images in the Public Domain or Creative Commons |
