Terror strikes from distance

By The Daily Progress

Published: November 30, 2008

From half a world away, terrorism has struck home in Central Virginia.

Nelson County residents Alan Scherr and his daughter Naomi were killed in the terrorist attacks last week in Mumbai, India. Naomi was just 13.
Our hearts go out to the family and to the Scherrs’ friends at the Synchronicity Foundation of Faber.

Adding to the tragedy is an irony impossible to ignore:
The Scherrs were part of a meditation group convening in Mumbai. The group’s philosophy of spirituality is far removed from the violence, terror and inhumanity of the attacks systematically carried out against innocents.
“I would call them bright stars,” Bobbie Garvey said of the Scherrs. “Extraordinary, bright, very positive — examples to the world.”
Ms. Garvey is vice president of the Synchronicity Foundation.

Several other members of the group were wounded. A number of other Nelson County residents were on the trip, but apparently not wounded.
This horrific incident forces us, once again, to face the reality of terrorism.
As of this writing, U.S. officials say that Americans in India remain at risk.
As a nation and as individuals, we are reminded that there can be no guarantee of safety at home or abroad.
For the most part, we Americans have been sheltered from this reality over the last few years. Now it has speared us from across oceans and continents.

It would perhaps be disrespectful to Synchronicity, given its philosophy, to argue at this time that this real enemy must be fought in physical terms. We will leave that debate for another day.
Today, we simply offer our condolences to the family, and the foundation, and join with them in celebrating the too short lives of two bright stars.