I was reminded recently just how far my home in Virginia feels these days as we raise our family here in Oregon. In my mind, the horror of the Virginia Tech shootings was juxtaposed with the bucolic memories I have of a quieter Blacksburg.
In the days that followed the murders, I heard from several Oregon-based natives of the Old Dominion mourning the loss of life and the stigma that will now be attached to a much loved Virginia institution. Beyond the usual bond that anyone might have to others from their home state, this event focused those kindred feelings. Everyone from Virginia is a Hokie now - even Cavaliers. Even the Queen of England -the unofficial Sovereign of the “Pearl Colony” was moved this week to spend time mourning with families of the victims. She was in Virginia this week to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown.
The loss of so many promising lives is appalling. Equally appalling is the continued loss of life in Iraq. On the day after the shootings in Blacksburg, Baghdad suffered the worst car bombing deaths since the beginning of the war to “liberate” the Iraqi people. 170+ souls were deleted from the list of the living and added to the growing list of statistics. Is anyone as nauseated by all of this death as I am? I refuse to take a side on the issue of whether we should or should not continue with that part of the mission unaccomplished. I simply don't understand the complexities. I do know I am tired of hearing about people dying for no other reason than someone else thinks their death will strike a poignant political cord with their opponents - whoever they are.
