Preoccupation

I've had a preoccupation with Gaza these past few weeks. Last week, I spent the better part of the morning looking at pictures of dead children. The guy in the next cubicle kept walking past my desk.

"Stop it," he finally said. "Stop looking at that."

I couldn't make myself stop. Just like I can't make myself stop looking at images of African children who are withering away from hunger and indifference. I am a mother, and not just because I have given birth.

I am having the same reaction this week, but it has been underscored and intented (I made that word up) by the knowledge that others are having it, too. The humanity, the helplessness of everyone in this video is heart-wrenching. At the same time, it gives me hope.

We have to know our capacity for evil, for inhumanity, for indifference. And then each of us has to say, "no more."

How many of us can there be? How many of us will it take?