Man's Inhumanity to Man

On  early morning ,Sunday April 14, I set out to do what I enjoy doing every year. I, and my wife, were heading out to Little Patuxent Parkway to run in the Clyde’s 10K race. Granted that I have been running 5K, 10K and several 10 milers for years, even tried a half-marathon once…..never really been any good at them…..but I enjoy the sense of competition and camaraderie that develops almost instantly among runners. So every year I include the Clyde’s race in my “race repertoire”. As I tackled the winding hills of Columbia’s neighborhoods, my only thought was to finish the race….without doing harm to this “old body”. The farthest thing from my mind was that to some fringe element….to some sick lunatic……I could be a soft target.

On Monday, April 15, it was Patriot’s Day in Massachusetts, and Tax Day for the rest of us. Four hours into their annual rite of spring, The Boston Marathon….the thing that was the furthest from my mind while running through HoCo neighborhoods….came into a shocking reality at their finish line. Two bombs exploded about five minutes apart, about two or three blocks away from each other. They exploded in crowds of people as if to maim and kill at random.  No real cause, no real purpose, no real statement to make. Just killing for the sport of killing. As a result, three people perished. The victims were two women and a child. Non-combatants in every sense of the word. Their horrendous act also injured over 170 people. 

As a result of “pressure cooker” bombs, which exploded at ground level, and contained ball-bearings and nails, healthy people who were standing and independent, suddenly became crippled and amputees.  Instantly, something as innocent as participating in or watching a road race, became a deadly activity. 

When anything like this occurs, the first question is always why? What make a person, or in this case persons, even think of doing anything as atrocious as the Boston Marathon bombing. Why attack innocent people who are participating in an activity as innocuous as running? Even moreso, why attack people who are watching people run?

To be honest, my first instinct when I decided to write about this was to rail on how evil mankind is. How all of these evil events perpetuated by men keep on happening. The list of “whys” are long. Stretching back to why was the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City bombed? Why did Columbine happen? Why did a physician at Fort Hood go on a shooting rampage? Why were people killed in an Aurora, Colorado theater for just watching a “Batman” movie? Why were teachers and students killed at Virginia Tech? Why did we lose two skyscrapers in New York City, and part of the Pentagon in 2001, along with over 3000 lives? Is man just inherently evil.

The answers to these questions are of course, we do not know. If we took a purely theological approach we could say….yes, man is an evil creature, and it all started in the Garden of Eden with Eve’s bite of the apple. Although I am a Christian, I do not profess to being a theologian.  I do look for a more practical answer, or at least an answer that would satisfy me. The truth is….I do not know.

Will Cain, a contributor to CNN pointed out in his opinion piece, “Is Man Inherently Evil” that "If it's one person or a HUNDRED people, that number is not even a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a percent of the population on this planet. The vast majority stands against that darkness and, like white blood cells attacking a virus, they dilute, weaken, and eventually wash away the evil doers and, more importantly, the damage they wreak. This is beyond religion, creed, or nation. We would not be here if humanity were inherently evil. We'd have eaten ourselves alive long ago."  (Mr. Cain attributes this quote to the actor Patton Oswald on his Facebook page)

Indeed the evil deed also brings out the good in people. Many heroes have been identified. The first responders knew exactly how to handle the sudden an unexpected situation. Uninjured bystanders immediately and unselfishly went to the aid of the injured. Hospitals were staffed with doctors and nurses ready to treat the misfortunate souls, and ready to keep the concerned public abreast of their condition. Churches were opened, so that those believing in God could find respite in Him. Politically, our President kept the nation reassured and comforted.  Even Mitt Romney had to call his speech at the interfaith service “superb!”

But the overarching question is, when will it end? When will these types of events stop happening? Some may say “never”. As of this writing, one of the suspects has been killed, and the other has been captured. But does that mean the next marathon, or 10K or 5K road race will be safe?  I am certain that heightened security will be the new norm for these events now. But it is discouraging that we may have to resign to accept man’s inhumanity to man. This may just be the "new normal".