A Lynbrook Resident's Perspective on the Recent Boston Bombing

The following is a letter to the editor from Lynbrook resident Kevin Limiti:

I was listening to the old protest song, ‘Only A Pawn in Their Game’ after I heard the news of the bombings in Boston yesterday. Why I immediately chose to listen to this particular song, I do not know. But the words and chords hit me like lightning as I saw the devastation on TV and in the newspapers.

The people who were killed, one of whom was an 8-year-old boy, are buried -- they will be given respect due to the nature of their deaths. However, when the people who triggered the bombs are eventually sent to hell, they will only be known as a pawn in someone else’s game.

It may seem like a far cry from the death of Medgar Evers in the 1960s, but if you think about it, this song can fit any kind of tragedy where senseless violence is committed in the name of a cause, be it political or otherwise. It’s important to realize how ultimately futile these actions will eventually be.

There will be a lot of, and already is, rhetoric forming about this event and there will be attempts by politicians and pundits to paint a particular picture and give a prescription as to what should be done in the wake of this event.

My advice to all those who are taking the time to read this is to keep a clear head and stay calm. It is essential that we put things in perspective and realize that this bombing, whilst tragic, is also news only because it occurs so infrequently. We, as Americans, can’t afford to give up any more of our liberties for the sake of our ‘security’ which, at best, would only be temporary.

We must take comfort in the fact that these criminals who committed this atrocious act of aggression will be found and brought to justice, but our response must not only be decisive but appropriate.

The radio anchor on the morning show I was listening to was suggesting torturing whoever was responsible. It is this kind of talk that is more dangerous than any kind of bomb. We must hold ourselves up to a higher standard than those who commit terrorism; otherwise, what makes us better?

Trying to think of a closing line for an article like this is quite difficult and I could spend all day on it thinking of it; but there is no escaping the echo of Bob Dylan’s song, for which this article is given the title.

‘When the shadowy sun/ sets on the one/ that fired the gun/ he’ll see by his grave/ on the stone that remains/ carved next to his name/ his epitaph plain/ only a pawn in their game’

Stay strong, Boston. Stay Strong, America.