Across campus, the country, and the world, people stopped their daily routines to watch the aftermath of the horrifying attack in Copley Square yesterday. On this uniquely Boston day, Harvard students could feel a palpable level of uncertainty and anxiety. List-serve emails warning students of suspicious packages all around Cambridge, jammed phone lines thwarting attempts to ensure friends were safe, and fear of simply walking outside on a sunny spring afternoon are moments that will remain engrained in our minds for years to come.
For those of us who grew up in Boston, yesterday was especially surreal. In Boston, Marathon Monday, Patriots’ Day, is a day of regional pride and a display of core American values. Every year, the same story unfolds seemingly in unison with the blossoming of the spring flowers. The Minutemen battle the Red Coats at the crack of dawn during the reenactment of the Battle of Lexington. Onlookers celebrate the famous “shot heard ‘round the world” and the beginning of the freedoms and resiliency of this “great American experiment.” Soon after the gunpowder smoke from the muskets fades, the starting gun in Hopkinton sounds and the Boston Marathon begins. Within the sea of runners are athletes from all walks of life. Veteran marathoners run side by side with out-of-shape and unofficial “bandits.” Passionate runners aiming to break three hours mix with charity joggers just hoping to finish. Locals jockey for position with athletes from Africa, Europe, and Asia. Yet, despite the incredible diversity, they are all united in a single goal: to cross the finish line. To complete an endurance contest that was first run in 1897, the oldest marathon in the United States.
As a child, I spent many Patriots’ Days at the base of Heartbreak Hill, cheering the thousands of runners that passed. Over the years, I have cheered for my cousins, teachers, and nannies. Exactly twenty miles into the race, my spot is an especially pivotal moment in the race. Twenty miles represents the longest distance most athletes ran in preparation for the race. I remember developing a sore throat many years from cheering for thousands of runners I would never meet, but nevertheless to whom I felt a special connection. Even as the Sharpie-inscribed names on their arms began to wash away from hours of sweat, the athletes had looks of grit and resolution on their faces. They knew they were entering uncharted terrain, unsure of what physical challenges would arise. However, they were determined to complete the final 6.2 miles of the race. Each year this passion and determination lifted my own spirits. It gave me hope in the human spirit and confidence in its ability to endure through hardship.
Yesterday’s events seem so horrible, so atrocious because they offended everything that Patriots’ Day represents. From the freedom for which the Minutemen fought to the perseverance of modern runners, yesterday’s attack shattered the storybook tradition of Patriots’ Day. Watching the scene unfold at Copley Square was sickening and left me wondering how, of all the days of the year, someone could initiate such a heinous act. How could someone attack the unassailable values that the Marathon and Patriots’ Day represent?
But in its darkest hour, the lessons of the Marathon and Patriots’ Day shine more brightly than ever before. In the face of absolute terror, we have remained resilient and shown the best aspects of the human spirit. Just as the runners raced up Heartbreak Hill, uncertain of the physical demands they would endure over the last 6.2 miles, the heroic first responders, without knowing what other explosions would strike, immediately ran to help fallen comrades. Similarly, several runners realized that, on this day, merely finishing the marathon was not enough. Instead, understanding their pain paled in comparison to the suffering of the victims, they continued running to Massachusetts General Hospital to donate their blood. Residents of Brookline and Boston, whose support during the marathon’s final few miles lifts thousands of exhausted runners each year, went above and beyond their normal Patriots’ Day duties. They offered cold runners the coats off their backs and opened their homes for stranded marathoners to rest. Like the unity among the runners in Hopkinton yesterday morning, everyone in Copley Square yesterday afternoon was also unified in a single goal: to help fellow citizens.
Many days will pass before we uncover the details of the cowardly attack on spectators and the full extent of its damage. As the number of victims climbs, it is easy to lament the heinous act. Yet, while the attack, tragically, was brutally effective in many respects, it failed to weaken the core values we share. While the Harvard community and the broader American society have many, seemingly insurmountable differences, it is moments like this where the vast set of values we share is evident. Just as the Minutemen did 238 years ago, let us as members of the Boston community send a loud message to the world. Let us tell them that even in the face of horrific acts of terror, our values of freedom, perseverance, and community will never fade. We will grow as a community and welcome the runners back for the 118th Boston Marathon next Patriots’ Day.
Photo Credit: Bill Hoenk for The Boston Globe