#GiveForFrance

Field, southern France. (M.A. Reilly, 07/12/16)

We arrived home safely from France last night. From when Devon and I entered Orly Airport in Paris it took us about 5 hours to clear the various security points and for our flight to take off. We were delayed nearly 90 minutes. Throughout the airport, the presence of military was quite pronounced. When we entered the airport we ended up riding the escalator with 9 soldiers all of whom were carrying automatic weapons. And though the security checkpoint lines were very long, everyone seemed to understand the need for heightened security and acted accordingly.  Now, a day later, we hear news of a terrorist attack in Nice and the faces of the people we met while in France feel more present and thinking of their kindness and generosity helps to renew the belief that the world is populated largely with good people--people just like you, just like me. We must hang on to this understanding.  The world is filled with mostly good people. Ordinary people. People just like you.

I think about Saul Bellows's Dangling Man. Joseph, the protagonist comes to understand that goodness and community are co-specifying,  He observes,

Goodness is achieved not in a vacuum, but in the company of other men, attended by love.  - Saul Bellow

 Mediterranean Sea, southern France (July 2016). I took this
image on Monday. I was so excited to dip my feet into the sea.

It is in the company of other, that our own sense of goodness is heightened. So at these times when the absence of action feels frustrating, we need to find a way to help the victims of this latest terror. So what can we do?


Here's a few ideas...

1. from LA Daily News: How can you help terror victims of the attack in Nice, France?
2. from Reddit 
3. #GiveForFrance
4. Pray.
5. Pray some more.