Boston-Signs of Hope?

Is there hope for us yet?  As I wept through some of the devastating reports over the past day or so, I began to notice a pattern.  Much of the story I have heard, almost from the instant of the devastating explosion, has been about the response--first at the scene, later, in the community surrounding Boston, still later across the globe.  At the scene, as many fled for their lives, others turned toward the explosions to help those in need.  Not just the first responders, who we already know are wired differently and instinctively ran toward the mayhem, but everyday citizens who just put out a hand and helped those in need, forgetting the risk and the horror of the follow-on explosions we have heard about from conflicts abroad.  Think how many times you have heard about explosions in the Middle East, where initial explosions have been followed by secondary explosions apparently intended to maim and kill those who give aid.  Yet, people in Boston helped those injured, apparently forgetting the risk because the urge to help was so strong.  You may say the media has played up this angle, but these things happened. 

Then, literally thousands of people signed on to provide shelter to those stranded by the shutdown of transport that followed the chaotic scene at the end of the race.  There were hundreds with nowhere to go, and probably four times that many offered a bedroom or a couch in their homes to those in need, apparently spontaneously.  As the news spread, others instinctively offered help.  Sure, there were well-intended politicians who stepped up and did their jobs in providing emergency aid, but that is their duty, after all.  I'm heartened by the many more individuals who pitched in.     

Scenes from around the world show people spontaneously offering condolences and other  expressions of support to those affected.  

In recent weeks, I have been listening to calls for action to restore civility and a spirit of working together to this fractured nation, and here it is.  Do we need a wakeup call like this to pull together?  No, of course not, but now that it has happened, can we all take the beginning steps to pull together?  I hope so.