“You’re an interesting species. An interesting mix. You’re capable of such beautiful dreams, and
such horrible nightmares. You feel so lost,
so cut off, so alone, only you’re not.
See, in all our searching, the only thing we’ve found that makes the
emptiness bearable, is each other.”
-“Contact”, 1997
Two years ago, shortly after the bombing of the Boston
Marathon, I began writing an essay. I
was inspired by the remarkable stories of heroism coming out of such horror, as
they often do, and I found myself wondering what it is that makes us act. More importantly, why do we only act in times
of crisis and hardship? As often
happens, my own life got in the way and the essay never got finished. But with the damage wrought by Hurricanes
Harvey, Irma, and Maria, and with similar stories of heroism coming out, I find
myself asking these questions once again.
