THE BOSTON WRITING ON THE WALL

THE CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING THE BOSTON THREE-ACT TRAGEDY ARE BECOMING CLEARER BY THE HOUR, EVEN IF THERE REMAIN UNANSWERED QUESTIONS. THE HISTORY, THE DEED, THE END ARE BECOMING ALL TOO FAMILIAR. THE UNDERLYING STORY APPEARS TO BE MORE CREEPY WHEN THE PIECES OF THE PUZZLE ARE PUT TOGETHER.
THERE IS GRIEF AND INDIGNATION OBVIOUSLY.  BOSTON SHOWED A CIVIC RESILIENCE IN COMMUNION WITH THE COUNTRY AS A WHOLE.  AFTER THE EMOTIONAL TIDE, A STORY LINE IS SLOWLY COMING TO THE SURFACE, WITH POTENTIALLY FAR-REACHING SOCIO/GEO- POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES.
CONTRARY TO EUROPE, THE UNITED STATES HAS A GOOD RECORD ON IMMIGRATION AND ASSIMILATION.  THE "AMERICAN DREAM" STILL MOBILIZES GENUINE APPRECIATION AND LOYALTY. THE BOSTON TRAGEDY HAS WEAKENED THOSE BELIEFS. THE SUDDEN APPEARANCE OF THE TWO TSARNAEV BROTHER MASS KILLERS IS AN INDICATION THAT ONE COULD BE IN THE UNITED STATES WITHOUT BEING THERE.   PHYSICAL PRESENCE, A GREEN CARD, NATIONALITY DO NOT NECESSARILY GO HAND IN HAND WITH ADHERENCE TO THE RULE OF LAW OR THE PLURALISTIC CULTURE OF THE LAND.
BOSTON IS AN INDICATOR OF A LATENT BIPOLAR PHENOMENON WHEREIN AN INDIVIDUAL "PLAYS" THE GAME WHILE PLOTTING HAVOC.  HE MIGHT LOOK LIKE FITTING IN, BUT HE IS IN REALITY A LONER, ALIENATED, BECOMING THE ULTIMATE "POSEUR."  THE BOSTON TERRORISTS BECAME RADICALIZED, BETRAYING BOTH THE RELIGION THEY ADHERED TO AND THE COUNTRY THEY LIVED IN. THE MOSQUE WAS LESS A PLACE OF WORSHIP THAN A SURROGATE FOR ASYLUM AND A BREEDING GROUND FOR HATRED AND A FEELING OF DISPLACEMENT.
THE AFTERMATH MIGHT HAVE AN EVEN LARGER IMPACT THAN THE NIHILISM WHICH WAS INTENDED.  SINCE 9/11 LIFE HAS BEEN ALTERED WORLDWIDE. GENERALIZATIONS RULE:  CALL TO PRAYER, CHECHNYANS, DAGESTAN.  AFTER THIS LONE WOLVES'  JOURNEY INTO SLAUGHTER ONE CANNOT EXCLUDE THAT THE UNITED STATES WILL CONSIDER FURTHER MEASURES TO AVOID A REPEAT. THIS CAN ONLY BE DONE BY  STRENGTHENING  VARIOUS CONTROLS, WHICH WILL INEVITABLY INFRINGE UPON PRIVACY, AND THE FREEDOMS WE TAKE FOR GRANTED.
"OTHERNESS" MIGHT BECOME A DIRTY WORD, WHILE PROFILING WILL BE THE RULE. THE ISRAELI SOPHISTICATED METHOD COULD BECOME THE ACCEPTED NORM GIVEN THAT THE CHECKS OUTNUMBER THE BALANCES. THE UNITED STATES WILL EASILY FIND IN RUSSIA AND CHINA PARTNERS ON HIGHER ALERT. THE US CONGRESS MIGHT ALSO RECONSIDER A BI-PARTISAN PROPOSAL ON IMMIGRATION. I BET THAT GREEN CARDS WILL BE HARDER TO COME BY.
UNFORTUNATELY ALL THIS MIGHT BECOME THE "NEW NORMAL," AT A MOMENT WHEN THERE WERE HINTS OF A DEGREE OF RELAXATION (NOT ON THE BACK OF SURVEILLANCE THOUGH).  HUNTINGTON'S ASSERTIONS WERE, IN THE MINDSET OF MOST, ALREADY BECOMING A SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY.  HIS VIEWS, WHICH HAVE BEEN OVERSIMPLIFIED FOR MASS CONSUMPTION BY THE WAY, RISK BECOMING EVEN MORE PERTINENT, WHEN AMPLIFIED BY URGENCY.
THE BOSTON VICTIMS WILL NOT BE HONORED BY QUICK FIXES, NEITHER SHOULD COUNTRIES GET TRAPPED IN POPULIST OVERREACTION. WE HAVE TO REMAIN BETTER THAN THE REST. LET JUSTICE BE DONE AS WE KNOW IT.
THE REMAINING PERPETRATOR DZHOKHAR TSARNAEV HAD NO MERCY WHEN HE AND HIS BROTHER TAMERLAN LEFT THEIR TOXIC BACKPACKS TO BECOME INDISCRIMINATE EXTERMINATORS. JUSTICE WILL BE JUST AND HAVE NO ROOM FOR UNWARRANTED COMPASSION.  AS WITH WHAT IS STILL HAPPENING AFTER 9/11, THE WAYS OF PUNISHMENT MIGHT BE SLOW BUT THERE IS NO LONGER AN  ESCAPE ROUTE TO WATERTOWN  OR TO ANYWHERE ELSE .