Boston took a giant hit last week on one of its most glorious days.  Patriots Day.

It’s called Patriot’s Day because it celebrates the very opening battles of the American Revolution at Lexington and Concord.  It’s celebrated by many because that feeling of patriotism can still be felt in the air amongst those that live in and around Boston today.  It’s part of the culture.

The hallmark event of Patriot’s Day, the Boston Marathon, is a one day festival of endurance, of unity, of civic pride.  It’s a pride well deserved.

Boston, is essentially, where America began.  Where ideas of liberty and individual freedom took root.  Where rebelliousness against tyranny stood strong. And, like many cities in the northeast and Midwest, Boston served as the landing place and new homes for millions of immigrants.  For most of America’s history, places like Boston, essentially served as the hub of what America was always becoming.   That is a true as it was in 1776 as it was through the wave of Irish coming during the potato famine in the mid 19th century, through waves of Italians, and Jews, and Greeks, and Armenians, and free blacks, and Haitians, and Puerto Ricans, and countless others.

The spirit of what America is becoming is ingrained in the area, in the people, in the way of life.  It can’t and won’t be defeated.

This is best shown in a spontaneous outpouring of affection shown here:

The Boston Marathon will never really be the same.  It would be an injustice to the three innocent victims that were killed that day – Martin Richard, Krystle Campbell, and Lu Lingzi if we tried to hard to “move on” in order to forget.  It would be an injustice to Officer Sean Collier of the MIT police force if we wanted to forget.  My they forever RIP.

It’s my hope that we learn from this.  It’s my hope that we take little Martin Richard’s words of “Stop Hurting People” seriously – for once.  It’s my hope that we as a people can be strengthened by the resilience and character of the people of Boston.  My favorite city.

God bless Boston and I’m grateful that it has been part of my life.