“It’s sad that our children will never feel the safety we felt when we were kids” – Tom Brokow

This quote resonated in my mind last night when I was watching the news about the tragedy in Boston. It’s such a simple but true statement. We can’t take our children to a sporting event, a parade, a show, or any public event without having fear of something tragic happening. It’s so sad that we live in one of the most powerful countries in the world and yet we are powerless to the evil around us.

Those of you that know me have heard me joke around about wanting to move back to Sydney, Australia where my family and I had the opportunity to live for 2 years. I seriously would move back there in a heartbeat if the opportunity arose. Not so much for me, but for my family. I am not saying that Sydney has no faults or is free of terror, but life there reminded me more of what it was like here when I was a kid. The safety I felt as a kid still resonates there and life is calmer and you get the sense of peace. It’s possible that the reason for this may be the fact that Australia’s total population is equal to the population of the state of Florida and terrorists have no interest in doing small damage to non-westerners. Nonetheless, peace and safety are still present there, not to mention the fact that it’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen.

I’m still a New Yorker at heart and always will be. I am resilient and I don’t want to give in to the evil terrorists and crazy people who perform these senseless crimes. I stand besides Boston today and feel their pain, pray for their victims and hope for recovery. Yesterday was a harsh reminder of 911 for me as well as many other NYers.

I believe that there is only so much our government and law enforcement can do to restore order. I believe that they do everything within their means to protect us. But I strongly believe that the problem we have in the world is the way we educate and bring up our children. The only way to restore peace is to teach our children to breakdown barriers between nations and religions. Teach them to love by demonstrating love to them each and every day. This must be a world effort and it most likely is a pipe dream but I do continue to have hope that one day the world can achieve that feat.

Lastly, one thing that I notice when tragedy occurs is the how quickly the world responds to help. Everyone forgets about the barriers between nations, the color of your skin, and the religion you follow. People rise and help each other and turn into heroes. Even weeks and months later, you’ll still see people displaying loving acts as simple as giving up a parking space for someone, or lending a helping hand to someone in need. If we could only harness that power and perform these acts everyday we would make this world a better place in an instant. So thank you to all the folks that acted yesterday to help the victims of Boston. I hope that you continue to be heroes every day.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.  Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” – Martin Luther King

My thoughts and prayers are with all of the families…