The quote

(photo by Mikhail Evstavief - of a cellist playing in a partially-destroyed national library in Sarajevo; 1992)

Well, I've kind of chosen a random quote and I'll explain why: I think the question of "what's to be done about wide-scale human rights crises?" is inevitably tied to the questions of good and evil, and, ultimately, the nature of God. Where is God present in these maladies? Why does God allow such rife, manifest evil? Why does God not right the wrongs? These are pretty basic, common questions. But I think that the best summary of Bill Carter's musing and searching in Bosnia can be found in his early ideas of looking for God. We want to see God - so we look in every nook and cranny that we can... and it discovers to us... something visceral and real and horrifying and immanent and beautiful and...

"Beginning at a young age I had a tendency to look for God in the oddest of places. It all started when the preacher said God was everywhere, he was even there when you were sleeping. Especially when you were sleeping. This kept me awake for years.

"I would eyeball the inside of decaying fruit and peer down gopher holes. I would search birds' nests, spiders' webs, and ant colonies. Sometimes I'd follow my brother when he sleepwalked onto the lawn. That seemed otherworldly.

"Then the preacher, who had fat fingers and breath that smelled like mildew said, 'Every step you take God is walking that path with you.' Every step? This made walking slightly daunting. Once after school I went into the field to find a piece of wet ground. Walking slowly, with my eyes closed, I took a few steps and stopped. I opened my eyes and spun around to watch the footprints rise up from the mud and slowly disappear. Maybe that was the Holy Spirit following me. I don't know."

(Fools Rush In by Bill Carter).

So what are we looking for?

And, more, what are we seeing?

Because it's only what you really see;

What you really find

That fuels the fire

Of inquiry, and curiosity

And compels you

To effect change

Because the face of suffering

Is not anonymous anymore

It is no less than your very own.