Monday, February 15, 2010

Tragedy is everywhere

Again, India is in the news for terrorism. Please note that it has been newsworthy in all our nation's media for weeks and months without tragedy. Still this is real and horrible.

For those that fear C's and my safety, I promise that C's safety is my highest priority. This tragedy is that: a horror and a tragedy. I promise that we will not be in places attractive to those wanting to harm affluent westerners. Nor, in West Bengal, will be near militants angry at their government. I promise, I am paying attention.

Though the project suggests adventurousness (we even call it the India Adventure), those who know me, know that I am careful - often to a fault. Taking on this project means that I have evaluated the risks and benefits and found the risks to be minimal compared to the benefits. I'm not alone in that opinion. Look around and you will see that everyone is interested in India. Heh, it's where the future will be happening, or so I hear.

At the same time, there are risks everywhere. I live in Highland Park where we have a troublingly high number of teens dying in cars. Fortunately, the state of Illinois has changed driving guidelines, requiring teens to have more driving experience. We hope this will save lives. In Chicago, we lose youth to violence weekly. I applaud those working to make the city safer for teens and everyone else. And we all grieve every loss. We pray for the families of Chicago youth lost to violence, for children of the North Shore lost to car accidents, for tourist and local victims of violence in Pune.

I pray for safety for us all. Here at home, in India, everywhere.

1 comment:

Steve Ford said...

Margaret, that was thoughtful post. We try to reassure ourselves by comparing risks - it's more likely to be in a car crash, more likely to experience violent crime in a large city - and while we can calm our fears with those comparisons, we forget that the victims of car crashes and robberies are people.

I am confident that you will be safe.