By Stuart Adelberg
I have no words. I know this will shock anyone that knows me. Whether in writing or addressing a group, I always have something to say. In fact, I confess that I occasionally (OK – maybe more than occasionally) have too many words. But not today. This is the fourth time that I have sat in front of my computer screen this week and attempted to compose something worth saying, something worth reading, something worth sharing. But the truth is there are no words that can adequately describe what I feel or think after witnessing the carnage, the atrocities, the utter disregard for human life that happened last Saturday in Israel.
I have seen, read, and heard what others have chosen to say or share in the press, on the street, in social media. I understand people’s desire to utter words of concern, of support, of anger, of conviction. But these words, as sincere and heartfelt as they are, leave me empty. Because at the end of the day, thousands of lives, individuals, families, and communities have been torn apart. Every one of us is blessed to go to bed each night with the expectation that there will be a tomorrow, that our homes will still be standing, that our parents, our siblings, our partners, and our children will still be here. Tomorrow won’t be perfect, but it will happen, and we will wake up with the hope that it might be a little better than yesterday. But this week, thousands of tomorrows were wiped out. For millions of human beings, any sense of security, of stability, of safety that most of us take for granted, has been completely eliminated in one horrendous day. What can anyone say to describe, explain, or help any of us cope with something this horrible?
I am not naïve, and I know that there are very real distinctions between what different groups of people think, what they value, how they worship, how and where they live. I understand completely that these differences can far too often result in major conflicts that don’t have obvious or easy solutions, and that after years of strife seems truly impossible to resolve. But I also know that killing, torturing, and taunting innocent civilians, not anonymously and from a distance, but looking them right in the eye and engaging in these acts, not because of what they might have done, but rather because of who they are, this represents the absolute worst of humanity. Actions like this have not and will not ever solve a problem. In fact, in my humble opinion, the chances of any solution today are far more remote and difficult to imagine than they were even a week ago. What words could possibly be found to describe, explain, or help any of us cope or begin to move on from something this horrible?
There are a few words, albeit inadequate, to describe at least some of what I feel. Though several days have passed since this unbelievably inhumane tragedy began, I feel sadness, despair, anger, fear, and hopelessness. Unfortunately, none of these words bring the world any closer to the one word that really matters here, the word that all thinking, feeling, humane people must seek, the word we need to find in our hearts, our minds, our prayers, and our actions. A word that today seems so far away but must be our collective, ultimate, goal. Peace.
Stuart Adelberg has been an active leader, participant, and volunteer in the region’s nonprofit arena for many years. He appreciates the opportunity provided by Greenwich Sentinel to share his thoughts, observations, and words.
