Again

Today, NPR slipped seamlessly from an upbeat story on Britain's celebration of its selection as host to the 2012 Olympics to an upate on "our breaking story" about the Tube bombings. Hard to believe they were reporting on the same country. Is their editor on vacation?

Yes, once again we see soot-faced people streaming through the financial district of a large western city, and hear murmurs of mounting carnage. On the net calls to prayer and words of consolation mingle with howls for revenge. Me, I don't really know what to add. This is a terrible event, and the victims--with all Britons--have my thoughts and prayers. The event has stirred some thoughts about terrorism more generally, leading me to a few critical observations. I guess that's my way of dealing with things, and I hope no one will find these in poor taste.

1) The last body count that I heard was 45. It may well go higher, but the figures I've heard so far don't seem far from what terrorists might inflict on any given day in Iraq. Why the differences in response among Americans? Is today's event just more out of the ordinary, or are there other considerations that make terrorism inflicted on another one of "our allies" seem less significant?

2) One of the more common responses I've seen on internet forums is an exhortation to hunt down and destroy the perpetrators. They certainly do need to be apprehended and brought to justice. But events like this put what I think is an undue emphasis (at least among the public) on the handful of people who carried this out, as opposed to the larger circumstances that really drive terrorism. The focus on the individual terrorists is understandable, but I think that past a point, it contributes to the endurance of terrorism by making the campaigan against terror seem like hunting down a few dozen or few thousand bad guys, and stalling the creation of more comprehensive approaches to the problem. More attacks keep the attacked countries in that frame of mind, instead of thinking about changes in how they engage the rest of the world. That may not be the conscious objective of the terrorists, but it certainly gives them a boost, and more reason to attack more often.

Pray for victory, yes, and pray as well for grace and wisdom in the struggle. Pray for the bereaved, for the killed, and for the killers. God have mercy on us all.