The horrific bombing at the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday reminds us of both our physical vulnerability and the fragility of our peace of mind. Even as we grieve for the victims and worry about friends and family in the vicinity, because these were bombings – clearly an act of terror on someone’s part – they shake us. We are touched to the core as we have been by 9/11.
Old familiar questions that have been tamped down for years re-emerge.
How do we make ourselves safe? Can we? And of course, we ask: Who? Why?
David Rothkopf
For us, the first duty in the wake of the Boston attacks is to make sure that no additional related threats remain. At the same time, we must care for those injured in the attacks and the families of those who lost their lives. But 9/11 taught us one more thing. We must care for ourselves, for the truth. We must fight to retain our equilibrium and our cool.
Earlier this month at a Police Executive Research Forum in Washington, police discussed an approach that law enforcement has encouraged in recent years in the event of attacks like mass shootings: Often the right thing to do is to take action, rather than run away. This makes some sense, particularly if there is a visible perpetrator to pursue or victims to aid.
But in the moments after an attack, we need to remember, too, that reflection and careful, fact-based analysis is more important than reflexive acts that appear to respond to but only compound the terror and, ultimately, the costs of the attack.
In the hours immediately after the Boston attacks, there were the understandable, prudent reactions. New York and Washington entered heightened states of alert. Friends and families texted and called one another asking whether their loved ones should leave Boston. No doubt others organizing public events in the next few weeks or months began to rethink their security precautions. President Obama’s brief, measured remarks expressing sympathy for the victims, resolve to seek justice and a commitment to providing full federal support for state and local authorities was a perfect example of an appropriate response.
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
An injured man is loaded into an ambulance after two bombs went off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013. Three people were killed and at least 264 were injured.
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Jim Rogash/Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
A man comforts a victim on the sidewalk at the scene of the first explosion.
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John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
The second explosion goes off near the finish line.
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David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
The first explosion knocked down 78-year-old runner Bill Iffrig at the finish line. He got up a few minutes later and finished the race.
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John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
A runner embraces another woman on the marathon route near Kenmore Square.
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Alex Trautwig/Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
Former New England Patriots offensive lineman Joe Andruzzi carries a woman from the scene.
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Bill Greene/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
A victim of the first explosion is helped on the sidewalk of Boylston Street.
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John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
An injured person is taken away from the scene in a wheelchair.
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David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe/Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
A woman kneels and prays at near the finish line.
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John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
People run down Exeter Street after the blasts.
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Bill Greene/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
The explosions occurred around 2:45 p.m., about an hour after the first of the race's nearly 27,000 runners had crossed the finish line.
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courtesy Dan Lampariello
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
Victims lie on the ground at the scene of the first explosion.
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John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
A couple runs from the scene pushing a stroller.
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Bill Greene/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
A runner reacts near Kenmore Square after the explosions.
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Alex Trautwig/Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
A man's blood-stained feet hang outside an ambulance.
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Jim Rogash/Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
A bystander who was injured in the first explosion is wheeled across the finish line while receiving medical attention from rescue workers.
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John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
Carlos Arredondo was at the race handing out American flags to spectators. After the blasts, he helped emergency responders and is credited with helping a man survive serious leg wounds.
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Darren McCollester/Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
The second explosion goes off near the finish line.
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John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe/Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
Police look at blown-out windows. The bombs shook buildings, witnesses said, sending people to seek shelter under tables.
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John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
Unclaimed runners' bags fill an area near the marathon finish.
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Kelvin Ma/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
Women desperate to hear from loved ones are unable to get close to the site of the attack.
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Bill Greene/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
Police and runners stand near Kenmore Square after the attack.
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Alex Trautwig/Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
Runners gather near Kenmore Square after the explosions.
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Alex Trautwig/Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
An EMT worker is transferred to an ambulance outside a medical tent in Copley Square.
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John Blanding/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
A SWAT team arrives on the scene.
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Darren McCollester/Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
A runner sits near Kenmore Square after the attack.
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Alex Trautwig/Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
Runners who had not yet finished the race are stopped after the explosions.
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Yoon S. Byun/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
Victims are helped at the scene of the first explosion.
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John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
A man in tears is helped at the scene on Boylston Street.
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Bill Greene/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
Passersby put pressure on a victim's leg to try to stop the bleeding.
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John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
Massachusetts State Police guard an area near Kenmore Square.
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Alex Trautwig/Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
Bystanders embrace near the finish line.
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CJ GUNTHER/EPA/LANDOV
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
Police officers gather on Newbury Street.
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Aram Boghosian for The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
Women and children are escorted away from the scene.
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Bill Greene/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
Bomb squad officials check a possible suspicious device near the scene of the blasts.
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SCOTT EISEN/Reuters/LANDOV
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
A woman is comforted after the blasts.
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JESSICA RINALDI/reuters/LANDOV
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
Two injured women are taken away on stretchers.
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David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe/Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
An injured woman is loaded into an ambulance.
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Jim Rogash/Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
First responders load injured people into an ambulance.
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Kelvin Ma/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
An injured man is prepared to be moved from a stretcher to an ambulance.
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Jim Rogash/Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
An injured woman is placed on a stretcher.
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David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe/Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
A runner is comforted following the attack.
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Aram Boghosian for The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
The Cambridge Police Department's bomb squad investigates unattended personal items left behind after the explosions.
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Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
Bystanders check their mobile devices for news of the explosions.
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Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
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A member of the bomb squad investigates a suspicious item on the road near Kenmore Square.
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Alex Trautwig/Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
A runner in a wheelchair is taken from a triage tent after the explosions went off.
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JESSICA RINALDI/reuters/LANDOV
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
People comfort each near the site of the blasts.
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JESSICA RINALDI/reuters/LANDOV
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Racers and race officials stand by after the explosions.
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NEAL HAMBERG/reuters/LANDOV
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Emergency personnel respond to the scene.
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David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe/Getty Images
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Police and emergency crews tend to victims.
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David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe/Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
An injured woman is carried away on a stretcher.
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David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
A man lies on the ground after the incident.
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David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
Officials watch as the first explosion goes off on Boylston Street.
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John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Photos: Deadly attack at Boston Marathon
Spectators leave the bleachers after the explosions.
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David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
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Police inspect one of the blast sites.
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courtesy Bruce Mendelsohn
But elsewhere it was fevered. The Twitterverse exploded with graphic images and rumors and reactions and over-reactions. It captured the hysteria of a crowd, the diverse mix of healthy and unhealthy reactions, almost as a photograph would: a high resolution picture of the state of mind of countless bystanders and interested parties.
Reading the tweets and the first stories, hearing of ground stoppages at airports and security moves at the White House, it was all too easy to remember the mood in the wake of 9/11, a moment in history when justified horror fed panic. But this was translated into a crackdown on civil liberties, an unnecessary war — and some very dark days for the United States.
Tragedies like these call for swift response from police and emergency workers, not to mention Homeland Security officials. But experience tells us that the ultimate accessories to the terrorist are the innocent and well-intentioned who spread and exaggerate the terror. Just as we should track down perpetrators, we should also remember that if we remain calm and rational, we can minimize the effectiveness of these acts and in so doing make them less attractive for terrorists to undertake.
This is how people in countries plagued with violence, like Israel, have long handled attacks. Be resolute about security, intelligence and enforcement. But place equal emphasis on maintaining order and ensuring the minimum possible disruption of daily life.
With more than 100 casualties reported at the time of this writing, it is easy to let anguish fuel anger and worse. Sadly, we have been here before. It is time we used past lessons to ensure that we respond today and in the future better than we have in the past—with equal parts of both purpose and perspective, with as much focus on maintaining life as usual as in dealing with its cruel disruption.
