Boston on My Mind: Where Do We Go From Here?

Yesterday's events in the city of Boston are still very fresh in the news. I purposely didn't watch news coverage of it yesterday. I read some news articles online and listened to NPR, but I didn't want to see the TV coverage or hear the sound bytes of the tragedy being replayed and spun to set a specific agenda. Everyday we are inundated with messages and it is easy to forget the subliminal impact they have on our lives. Unfortunately news isn't always just news.

There are so many questions to be answered and we won't know those answers for some time. Despite this fact, it doesn't stop certain individuals and news outlets from blaming certain groups of people or publishing inaccurate stories. While I understand the need for justice, I don't think it's productive to blame others when so much is unknown or speculated.

I've been encouraged by some of the media coverage I've seen, heard on NPR or watched on television today. There seems to be a focus on the selflessness that people demonstrated as the tragic event unfolded. Even in the worst of circumstances, people still show their best. These stories are the ones that give me hope, but I'm not sure how long they will last.

I'm taking a course on leadership, justice and forgiveness and many of themes of the course have me reflecting on the event and asking myself "where we go from here as a society?" I truly hope we learn from our mistakes and seek restorative justice instead of vengeance. I have an idea of where I go from here as an individual, but can't say the same for our society. Time will tell.