In many ways we are lucky. We aren’t Syria, or Egypt, or Tunisia or countless other locations that are experiencing daily violence on a large scale. But I suppose it would be impossible to feel lucky if you were the Richard’s family who lost their 8 year old son in the Boston Marathon bombing. I would be incapable of looking at any of those teachers or parents in Newtown and say “we’re lucky”. When senseless violence occurs – whether it affects one person or thousands of people – nobody feels lucky.
But, we are indeed lucky. We are lucky because we live in a country that is based on mutual trust, love and respect. When you have a body of citizens that swear an oath to uphold that standard they do crazy things like,
- Open their homes to strangers
- Feed people for free
- Broadcast well wishes and words of encouragement from the largest media outlets in cities far away
- Mobilize an entire population within minutes
We are lucky. We are lucky that we have each other and that is what makes us different.