Boston Marathon

Drawing Lessons

Sighs of relief. Jubilance. Gratitude and admiration for the excellence of first responders, medical personnel, citizens, neighbors, law enforcement at every level. It was an incredibly tumultuous and horrifying week that commenced with the Boston Marathon bombings, and culminated with the lockdown of Boston and the dramatic shootout and apprehension of the suspects,one dead, one wounded. Bostonians are able to resume their everyday lives, while all of us exhale and begin to consider what comes next.

Like any crisis, initial reactions can be visceral and harsh. When witnessing two young men, seemingly indifferent to human life, commit such horrifying acts, it is easy to want to exact revenge. Personally, I was thrilled that the younger brother was captured alive, and I hope that he will be able to provide actionable information. When many people reacted that they hoped he would die and/or suffer terribly, I thought about how incredibly difficult and rare it is to capture a terrorist or other violent criminal and not harm the perpetrator.

It reminds me of a truly remarkable historical event: the Israeli capture of Adolf Eichmann in Buenos Aires in 1960. That the Israelis were able to capture Eichmann and bring him to Jerusalem to stand trial for crimes against humanity as one of the organizers of The Holocaust, while many were recent survivors, is one of the most stunning examples of the capacity for human restraint and moral fortitude in the pursuit of justice. This is a lesson for humanity for the ages.

As we begin to seek answers to how the two Tsarnaev brothers became terrorists and what connections they may have had, much less how to deal with the surviving brother, I think it is also useful to consider lessons on drawing. We have been focusing thus far on “connecting the dots”, which of course gives us lines (or connecting line segments). We have photographic images, and other data that will help authorities connect the dots. When we draw, we sharpen our attention, and look for structure and proportion as well as various perspectives. Perhaps there is shading. Drawing is a process of refinement.

Drawing is not the same as form; it is a way of seeing form. (Edgar Degas)

The very act of drawing an object, however badly, swiftly takes the drawer from a woolly sense of what the object looks like to a precise awareness of its component parts and particularities. (Alain de Botton)

It is often said that Leonardo drew so well because he knew about things; it is truer to say that he knew about things because he drew so well. (Sir Kenneth Clark)

The mindset of drawing is one that is often cast aside, in favor of immediate images and instantaneous reaction. Drawing lessons may be as valuable as crowdsourced images though, if we are to enhance our understanding and possibilities for learning and improving.

Super Duper

Yesterday was a Super Duper Wednesday.  It was not a good day; certainly not in the news world. It was a day full of news and un-news and more bad news, and then punctuated news. By now we are all too familiar with the news media too eager to report, despite serious mistakes (and possibly serious ramifications from those mistakes). It does seem, however, that there is forensic evidence of a pressure cooker used for the bomb(s) that killed and maimed brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, at the Boston Marathon on Monday. A pressure cooker. It’s almost too obvious. The literal and figurative remains of a pressure cooker were what we were left with yesterday. By the time I went to bed, though, I felt duped.

On a day when media outlets rushed to report that a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing was arrested, and then that report was retracted, the “pressure cooker” that is the news media revealed its limits. Then there was the discovery of a  potentially poisonous letter sent to President Obama, just after one was discovered sent to a senator (maybe more than one senator). At least those letters were initialed by the sender, so as to avoid any confusion. By the end of the day, when most of the news revolved around the aftermath of the horror in Boston, and attempts to get attention for poisoning senators and the President, a bi-partisan bill that would expand background checks to purchase a gun was defeated. President Obama responded,” The American people are trying to figure out, how can something have 90 percent support and yet not happen?”  I think many of us felt Super Duped.

We live in Super times. Supermodels and Supermajorities; Super Bowls and Super Bugs; Super Moms and Superheroes; (Superman); Superhighways and Superconductors; Super Glue and Super Funds; Supersonic and Supernova; Superstars and Superpowers; Superego and Superficial and Supernatural…….

So much seems to be heightened–super heightened– and we often find ourselves in our own pressure cookers. Then we have Super Duper days.

Horrorism

As of 6:00 pm on this Tax Day (and Patriot’s Day in Massachusetts), Monday,April 15, 2013, two explosions occurred near the finish line at The Boston Marathon, killing two and injuring scores. These are the early reports. Certainly there are more questions than answers at this moment, but already we are hunkering down, and fearful of more danger in the coming hours, days, and weeks.  News commentators have proclaimed that the terrorists have scored a win, as authorities have already admonished citizens to stay home. Pennsylvania Avenue in front of The White House has been closed to pedestrians this evening.

The Boston Marathon, one of the great annual events, is usually a joyful experience for spectators and runners alike. While the individuals compete against each other, there is also a sense of community–of spectators cheering on the runners and offering water to all. It’s about personal best and fellowship. It’s one of the least divisive sporting events. Until a bomb goes off.

The Boston Marathon is both a local event and a global one. It is viewed around the world as those competing hail from all over. Today’s blast is not only an act of terror, instilling fear through violence, but it is horrifying. Bostonians and those visiting this great city have been terrorized. The rest of us watching from afar may also feel fear (terror) that there are more imminent attacks, and that they may not be limited to Boston. But what we all should feel is horror.

Violence may be endemic to the human condition, but we have transformed many of humanity’s ills and diminished the prevalence of violence from time to time. As we consider laws to reduce gun violence, there are simultaneous calls to arm teachers in schools to protect students. Many see the answer to violence as being better armed. This was the proposition behind the Cold War. More nuclear arms would prevent war. So how do we reconcile the need for safety with the need to go about our lives, and to prevent horrifying accidents?

Of course, this was no accident. This was terror–whether it was homegrown or international. Chaos and fear ensued, and disrupted a magnificent day. And there were many horrific injuries as well as a couple of deaths. We need to not only be safe from harm, but teach our children that violence is not a solution. We now have a generation who have grown up since 9/11 who are more exposed to violence from our two wars, multimedia, popular culture, and more demands for guns as an expression of freedom, rather than freedom from guns and violence.

We won’t be able to control or eliminate all acts of violence, random or planned, but we can teach our children that violence is horror, not freedom.