Although you can’t always tell it from this blog, I am something of an avid observer of politics and world events. I was saddened by the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the past and possible future prime minister of Pakistan. It is a stark reminder of the harsh world out there, what some are willing to do to someone with a different opinion, and devastating news for a country whose stability has already been rocked. I am saddened for Mrs. Bhutto, her family, her followers, and the nation of Pakistan.

Sadly, many leaders have been victims of assassination over the years. In our own nation we have had four presidents assassinated and many other attempts. Lincoln’s death led to a battle over Reconstruction and the impeachment and near removal of his successor. Kennedy’s assassination was a precursor to the tumultuous era of civil rights protests and anti-war activism. I don’t know what their assassins hoped to accomplish, but the nation moved on and became a better place, albeit many years later. I hope Pakistan can do the same. An entire nation faces some difficult choices. Turn your grief toward positive change or be consumed by bitterness and recrimination?

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand sparked the beginning of World War I, costing over 20 million lives. Events have consequences and people have a choice as to how to react. I hope the people of Pakistan take the consequences into account. Enough people have died.

Many of us have had the personal equivalent of a Bhutto assassination in our own lives. It leaves us at a crossroads, with paths to choose. We can choose to let our grief consume us in anger, leading us to self destruction. A dear friend of mine referred to these types of events as “personal Hiroshimas”. In my own case it was a devastating divorce and the consequences that followed it. In someone else’s it might be a premature death, financial ruin, or some other event that changes your life forever. You can’t turn back the clock, you can’t undo the deed, and you can’t make it all better again. You have a choice….let tragedy define you forever or make positive choices to move ahead. Lash out, turn inward, make our lives better. It is all up to us, isn’t it?

We have those choices. Nations have those choices. Sadly enough, we will never eliminate those who wish to settle disagreements with the barrel of a gun. Neither will we ever be immune to tragedies in our own lives. Personal Hiroshimas. Communities devastated. National tragedies. This is a difficult world we live in. Ultimately, we are defined as a people and as individuals by how we respond.

I pray for the people of Pakistan to find the answers that lead to reconciliation and peace. The other choice is too tragic to think about.