Seeing Northern Virginia in a new light

 

Staff editorial
April 25, 2008

 

It can be argued that a strong sense of security – a bubble –surrounds our lifestyle.

 

We are all lucky enough to live in an area that has well-lit sidewalks lining streets patrolled by police nearly 24/7, taking us to our multi-million dollar homes.

 

But this near utopia has its dark alleys, just like any other area of America.

 

Now, a year after the shootings at Virginia Tech, members of our community are still working to deal with the realization that tragedy is never too far away from anyone, not even us. But the past few years should have taught us this lesson already.

 

If you were to survey any class in school, it is likely you would find of students who are able to recount harrowing stories about just how close the 9/11 attacks affected their family, particularly with so many parents and siblings working in D.C.

 

And once again our sense of security was jarred as Lee Boyd Malvo and John Allen Muhammad kept the Beltway within their crosshairs during 2003’s sniper attacks.

 

And finally, the events at Virginia Tech gripped our nation in fear last spring, as we frantically called friends and loved ones in order to assure their safety.

 

The lesson is humbling. Behind our locked doors and on our well-lit streets, we are all members of the same society that spans across all of America. No zip code can make up for the tragic events we have lived through over the past few years. No false sense of security can cover us from the unsettling effects of reality. While our daily lives certainly differ from the norm of most of the country, the same human emotions are felt everywhere, including here.

 

Behind this Potemkin village front, we have to face the realities of today’s world just like every other person on this earth. An attack on the capital of the free world, like the one we saw that September morning not too long ago, is an attack on our home. 

 

Living so close to the capitol and in such a wealthy area provides this sense of security. But many of us have seen more traumatic events in our young lives than others will see in a lifetime, and we have yet to even graduate high school – yet to enter the ‘real world.’ And while this may seem to be a sad fact that we have to cope with, something can be gained from all of this. These events will define us as a community and a generation, inspiring us to grow from them and become stronger. As students coming out of the Washington metropolitan area during this time, we will be more aware of the people surround us and the troubles that we all face.

 

It doesn’t matter where you live or how much money you make, everyone has their struggles.