THE BETTER ANGELS OF OUR NATURE (ARE LEGION)

While above earth in the International Space Station, Commander Scott Kelly, brother-in-law of Gabrielle Giffords, the U.S. Congresswoman shot in the head at point blank range January 8th 2011 in Arizona by Jared Loughner, who killed six people and left Giffords in critical condition before being apprehended, said:

• "As I look out the window, I see a very beautiful planet that seems very inviting and peaceful...Unfortunately, it is not. We are better than this. We must do better."

While I'm sure the above was stated in shock and with a heavy heart, I feel strongly that the average human being is better than this. Is compassionate by nature and always will be. And while selfish souls will rob others of their lives, I refuse to accept that this minority taints the whole.

To quote another summation of humanity, this time from a fictional space traveler, an alien come to earth played by Jeff Bridges in the 1984 film "Starman":

• Starman: Shall I tell you what I find beautiful about you? You are at your very best when things are worst.

I couldn't agree more. I believe there is a balance to all things. There will always be what I call "selfish forces". Some call it evil. I define evil as selfishness. Taking more than you need. What does not belong to you. Including the lives of others. I define good as compassion. Giving more than you need to. What belongs to you. Including your life.

I believe there is an eternal balance between the two. One will never win out over the other. But that balance is skewed. Tilting ever towards the better angels of our nature.


"Congress on Your Corner". A pleasant meet and greet outside a supermarket in Tuscon Arizona attended by those waiting in line to meet Representative Giffords to say hello. The last thing any of them could expect was a man to pull out a Glock pistol with an extended clip and start pumping bullets into bodies.

Yet moments after the shooting started and people fell, starting with Giffords shot through the cranium from a distance of four feet, these people, these shocked, unprepared people, shot into action to stop him and help save lives:

• "After the gunman ran out of ammunition in the first magazine, he stopped to reload, but dropped the loaded magazine from his pocket to the sidewalk, from where bystander Patricia Maisch grabbed it.^[23] 

• A bystander clubbed the back of the assailant's head with a folding chair in the process injuring his elbow and representing the 20th injury.^[24] 

• The gunman was then tackled to the ground by 74-year-old retired colonel Bill Badger,^[25] who himself had been shot, and was further subdued by Maisch and bystanders Roger Sulzgeber and Joseph Zamudio.^[26] 

• The first call from the scene to emergency services was received at 10:11 am.^[1] While waiting for help to arrive, Giffords' intern Daniel Hernández Jr. applied pressure to the gunshot wound on her forehead, and made sure she did not choke on her blood. Hernández was credited with saving Giffords' life.^[27][28][29] 

• David and Nancy Bowman, a married doctor and nurse who were shopping in the store, immediately set up triage and attended to nine-year-old Christina-Taylor Green.^[30]" (more)

Federal Judge John Roll, 63, who had stopped by to see his long time friend Mrs. Giffords, was one of those killed:

• "When Giffords went down, Roll threw himself on top of one of Gifford's employees, Ronald Barber, to protect him. In doing so, Judge Roll was fatally shot. 

• "But he did not die immediately. According to Father O'Mara, Bishop Kicanas said that as someone present came to minister to his wounds, Roll reportedly said, 

• "I'm dying. Help those other people." (more)

While murderer Jared Loughner had days, weeks, months to prepare his crime, acquire a pistol, ammunition, the nerve to follow through, the staff and attendees, average people, had mere seconds to react. And despite the chaos, confusion and violence, they combined to stop Loughner from killing and wounding more,  to risk and sacrifice their lives in order to save anothers. 

I am astounded and inspired. Though shocking. Though sad. Take note. Take heart.

Know that while the selfish forces of our race will continue to strike the unsuspecting, there is a greater force at work. Always. Ready at a moments notice to help. To serve. To give. They are far greater in number. They are the compassionate. They are never far.

AND THEY ARE LEGION.

Intern Daniel Hernandez

• Eight hours after the shooting, Hernandez (who helped save Gifford's life) stood with Giffords' friends and staff and told them what had happened. The tall, strong 20-year-old said, 

• "Of course you're afraid, you just kind of have to do what you can."

• "You just have to be calm and collected," he said. "You do no good to anyone if you have a breakdown. . . . It was probably not the best idea to run toward the gunshots, but people needed help."

MJW

THE FACE OF BATTLE

U.S. Marines in Afghanistan - February 13th, 2010

While no film or documentary can truly capture the experience of modern combat and military service, I highly recommend the following two documentaries: RESTREPO follows American servicemen in Afghanistan in 2008. ANDERSON'S PLATOON follows American servicemen in Vietnam in 1967.

I do not share them as pro or anti war efforts. Simply as a window into a very real world we civilians will never truly understand. What I found most interesting was the same looks of concern. Of fear. Of determination. Of laughter. Of tears or smiles reading letters from home. Identical though 40 years apart. These documentaries are perhaps a window into the experiences of young men at war not just from these two conflicts, but from any period in human history.

RESTREPO

http://restrepothemovie.com/video/

"The war in Afghanistan has become highly politicized, but soldiers rarely take part in that discussion. Our intention was to capture the experience of combat, boredom and fear through the eyes of the soldiers themselves. Their lives were our lives: we did not sit down with their families, we did not interview Afghans, we did not explore geopolitical debates. Soldiers are living and fighting and dying at remote outposts in Afghanistan in conditions that few Americans back home can imagine. Their experiences are important to understand, regardless of one's political beliefs. Beliefs are a way to avoid looking at reality. This is reality."  - Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger (directors)

(available on DVD and Blueray, Netflix "Instant Play" & Rental)


THE ANDERSON PLATOON

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lpcuNX2JWQ

1968 Academy Awards® Best Documentary Feature 

1967  (54 minutes)

Filmmaker Pierre Schoendoerffer, a veteran of the French Indochina War, joined a platoon of American soldiers in 1966 for six weeks of search-and-destroy operations in Vietnam. This Oscar-winning documentary provides a rare outsider's behind-the-scenes view of the soldiers -- recording their lives, deaths, hopes and fears -- and observes how American culture influences their attitudes and behaviors in the midst of jungle warfare.

(available on Netflix "Instant Play", and sections on YouTube)

MJW