Nicole Black, The Daily Record Newswire
My thoughts are with the Boston victims and their loved ones. Such a horrible, pointless tragedy. It was one of many on our soil in recent years — some incidents were terrorism, both domestic and foreign, while others were gun violence.
My heart aches for our country. Our innocence was lost on Sept. 11 and we’ll never get back the security and invincibility that we felt before that horrible day. This post-9/11 world is an unsettling one. There have been too many senseless tragedies as of late. Too much sorrow.
Our country is suffering from the weight of these collective losses. Of course there’s the emotional toll, but just as importantly, we’ve seen the gradual eradication of our liberties in the name of achieving absolute security — something that is an impossibility.
And for what?
Our right to privacy has become ornamental. The New York Times reports that our government is collecting all of our digital and cellular communications without just cause or a warrant. We’re undergoing near-strip searches and are being subjected to questionable doses of radiation at airports. We’re unable to enter places where large public gatherings occur without having our bags and persons searched. Surveillance cameras are everywhere, recording our every move.
And for what?
With this latest tragedy, the media reports that there were no “credible threats” beforehand, despite all of the digital data being collected by the government. There are reports that surveillance videos captured both the bombing itself and possibly the bomb-carrying backpacks as they were left behind. All of this after the fact.
And for what?
This atrocity still happened, despite whatever illusory security measures were in place. And now we’ll use all of the data collected to seek vengeance — which we no doubt deserve. We’ll catch the bastards that did this. But, what then — after we obtain “justice” and revenge?
Will we subsequently lose even more rights and constitutionally guaranteed liberties — all in the name of “security”? Will it be worth it? Is the illusion of feeling more secure worth the deprivation of the very liberties and rights that make this country what it is? Will the continued erosion of our rights do anything at all to prevent these horrible, heart wrenching national tragedies?
And for what?
I certainly don’t have the answers. But I, like my fellow citizens, am grieving in the wake of the bombings. I’m grieving for the horrible loss of life, for the loss of our country’s innocence, for the loss of our liberties, and for our temporary loss of hope. I long for the days when we truly believed we would leave the world a better place for our children.
Even so, I’m grateful for what I have and I find myself hugging my family just a bit closer as I grieve. Because that’s really the only thing you can do: enjoy what you have while you have it.
In the meantime, I remain hopeful. Hopeful that the violence of recent years hasn’t permanently scarred our collective consciousness. Hopeful that as a nation, we will recover and spring back as best we can after the horror that happened in Boston. Hopeful that our leaders, in the wake of this tragedy, don’t lose sight of the core values that make this country great:
independence, unity, solidarity, and liberty.
And for what?
Because united we stand and divided we fall. If nothing else, after this latest round of senseless violence, we are united. We stand together, hoping beyond hope for a better, brighter future for our children. To do anything else would be to admit defeat. So instead, we hope. We have no other alternative.
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Nicole Black is a director at MyCase.com, a cloud-based law practice management platform. She publishes three legal blogs and can be reached at niki@mycase.com.
