Beech Tree News Network

Although I watch the news, I would not claim to know a lot about current events. However, three events that recently made the news touched me – for very different reasons.

First, California Chrome, the horse that won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, failed to win the Belmont Stakes. Instead, Tonalist won, and California Chrome finished fourth with Wicked Strong. The last Triple Crown winner was Affirmed in 1978 (http://msn.foxsports.com/horse-racing/story/tonalist-wins-belmont-denies...). Like many others, I was pulling for California Chrome to win – mainly because it’s been 36 years since we’ve seen a Triple Crown winner. Those three races within a five-week period are just very tough for all involved.

Second, Diane Sawyer recently interviewed Hillary Clinton. Within that interview, the swap of five Taliban prisoners for U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl was discussed. Within her comments, Clinton said. “… one of our values is we bring everybody home off the battlefield the best we can. It doesn't matter how they ended up in a prisoner of war situation.”
Sawyer asked, “It doesn’t matter?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Clinton said. “We bring our people home” (http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/hillary-clinton-guess-president-obamas-ha...).
Although I don’t know all of the facts regarding Bowe Bergdahl’s circumstances, I liked Clinton’s statement. It felt patriotic and honorable.

Third, a couple of weeks ago in Katra Shahadatganj, India, two girls (young teenaged cousins belonging to a low-standing caste in India's social hierarchy system) were gang-raped and lynched when they went into the fields behind their homes under the cover of darkness to relieve themselves. The circumstances which left these girls vulnerable to the killers are not unusual in India. The girls had gone out at night because their families lacked a toilet and the village has no communal latrines. Because of modesty, male family members don't usually go with the women. To ensure the safety of women, safe communal facilities for each community in India are desperately needed. This incident was tragic on so many levels.

Finally, these three events – totally unrelated – have one thing in common: they each touched my sympathetic side. Ecclesiastes 1:9 (NIV) says, “…there is nothing new under the sun.” Defeat, prisoners of war, and failure to value human life are not new to the world, but I continue to be saddened by them. Then I remember that “…God is not the author of confusion, but of peace…” (1 Corinthians 14:33, KJV).