Shine a light
Bright spots in era of tensions here and abroad
It is sometimes difficult to find bright spots in a world engulfed in wars, bitter rhetoric, centuries-old conflicts over religion and foggily motivated killing, but they are there. Following are a few to consider for the weekend.
The shooting Wednesday morning in Alexandria, Va., as Republican members of Congress were practicing for the annual Congressional Baseball Game, was an assault on our democracy. Rep. Steve Scalise was critically injured, and an aide, a lobbyist and two Capitol Police officers were hurt; the shooter was killed by police at the scene. But the game went on Thursday night and the bipartisan declarations of unity were welcome. The Democrats won the game and, led by Rep. Mike Doyle of Forest Hills, awarded the trophy to the Republicans and Mr. Scalise, who remains hospitalized. It showed that congressional unity, in the face of adversity, can still be on display in an embittered Washington.
A great human tragedy occurred Tuesday night in London, where a ferocious fire consumed a multistory apartment building, killing at least 30. It was public housing. Many of the residents and, thus, victims were poor, and many were immigrants or refugees. The response of Londoners to the catastrophe was to put out long tables of food, clothing, toiletries and toys in the area around the building and to offer shelter. Queen Elizabeth II visited the site to offer solace and to pledge follow-up to the victims. As in the Washington shooting, this was people at their best.
A third sliver of sunshine is being seen across the United States, including in Pittsburgh. Muslims observing Ramadan, the holy month of fasting and prayer during the day, are inviting people of other faiths to share with them the meal of iftar, the breaking of the fast at sundown. They are doing this in spite of the effort of the U.S. government to impose a travel ban on citizens of six primarily Muslim nations and the fact that America is engaged in wars against Muslim groups in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, the Philippines, Somalia, Syria and Yemen.
The efforts of Muslims across the country to reach out to their Baha’i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish and nonbelieving brothers and sisters, to share food and drink on an important religious occasion and enhance mutual understanding, are admirable. The extended hand should be warmly accepted.
These are three examples of people not being anything like as bad as we sometimes are, or as we are sometimes portrayed to be, in fake and in real news.