Lahore

I try very hard not to use this blog as a political speaker's box. This blog is about my journey with ALS. It is not about the political world, the global impact of terrorism, the hypocrisy of people in power, the potential outcome of electoral processes seemingly gone wild in so many countries of the world. This blog is about my journey. Today, not so much.

Today my journey takes me through the Easter holiday. The term "holiday" is correct here. This word derives from the old English expression "holy day". It's easy to see. Back in days past, there were specific, consecrated religious days. On these days, work was not permitted. The day was set aside for celebration of a holy event. Today, Christians everywhere celebrate the Easter holy day.

Unfortunately, today is not a celebration everywhere. This day of peace for Christians is just another day for Muslim extremists in Lahore, Pakistan. These Muslim believers in violence chose this day to attack Christians in Lahore, and to specifically target women and children in their attack. They've claimed credit for it in the international press, declaring their specific intent to attack Christians on Easter.

This whole thing, this whole world that fights over religion, a battle which simply declares that my God is better than your God, leaves me continually sad. There are so many worthwhile things which we as humans can do, yet hatred, pure hatred, with no reason or judgement, seems to be one of the things which we, as a species, do so well. It is this pointless hatred which leads to massacres like Lahore.

There will be many who will declare the need for revenge, forgetting that Christ himself eschewed revenge, declaring that we should respond in peace by turning the other cheek. There will be many who will see this as another reason to fight another war. And there will be many more who will just ignore this atrocity, simply because it is in a place far away, committed against people who speak another language, whose skin is another colour, who live in a different culture.

Sadness. this is what I really feel. There are so many things in life which will cause its end; diseases, accidents, or just getting older. Violence from another human should not be one of them. Yet it continues to be that which we do best. It might be good to think about this for a moment today, as you remember the sacrifice of Christ, should that be what you do. Regardless, the only way through this mess is peace. More killing only leads to more killing. And that makes me so sad.