We Are All Parisians

By Daniel Applegate
President, Arlington Memorial Gardens

Lest we doubted it, evil does exist.  Acting out of a deep-seated hatred that is far beyond comprehension for most of us, terrorists coordinated and carried out a brutal attack this past Friday evening in Paris killing over 120 and injuring well over 300.  Many of those injured are critical and the death toll will likely rise.  The City of Light roils in the darkness that is known as fear, confusion and pain.

Setting aside all of the political implications, there are lessons in the aftermath of this hideous event.  It forces us to make a choice between looking or looking away.  The more comfortable choice is for us to take note, lament, but then look away.  After all, while it’s a tragedy, it’s a European tragedy - we weren’t directly affected.  However, while that might be an altogether understandable reaction, it would actually only blur reality, a reality that calls upon us to focus on our own vulnerabilities, our own mortality and the utter wickedness of this attack.

 So, instead of looking away, we need to look and look hard.  We need to confront the brutal truth that life is unpredictable and frequently teeters back and forth between the polar opposites of comfort and pain.  Whether you’re a believer that the future is dependent on mere fate or the design of the Almighty, the truth is that the next moment, or the moments after that are decisively uncertain.  What began in Paris for so many as a leisurely evening of comfort instantly and diabolically flipped to pain.

The pain of Paris is in fact the pain of humanity.  As our oldest ally, a residual of mutual respect and affection exists between America and France even if our differences sometimes get in the way.  At this troubling moment, Americans need to rally in support of the French people - to share in their pain; to mourn for their dead; and to pray for their injured.

And, to unequivocally declare that…We Are All Parisians.

Daniel Applegate became part of the Arlington Memorial Gardens organization in 2001 and has worked in the cemetery industry since 1981, including serving as Secretary/Treasurer and then as President of the Ohio state cemetery association.  He was appointed by Ohio Governor George Voinovich and served two terms on the Ohio Cemetery Dispute Resolution Commission, Ohio's cemetery oversight agency. He is a graduate of The Ohio State University holding a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science.