258 candles-day111

A year ago we were waking up to the news that Dallas, Texas police headquarters had been attacked by James Boulware using an armored van. Today we wake to the new, larger number of 50 dead in the attack by a lone gunman armed with a handgun and an assault rifle on a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. In the face of such disturbing and heartrending events, we could be forgiven for the urge to curl up into ourselves, if only to protect ourselves from the psychic pain we experience every single time this happens.

But if we do that, we also miss the brave actions of individuals. We need to be reminded of them at least as often as we need to be reminded that people take up arms to hurt others who aren't like them, or who are sometimes too much like them for comfort. Especially in this current political atmosphere when the default setting for much of the electorate seems to be "It's the other guy's fault!", we need to remember it's just as often the other guy who keeps us safe, who comforts us, who sometimes literally holds us close to his or her heart.