Daily Times

Standing on the bank of a river coursing through the steppes of Mongolia I observed a beautiful sight. Galloping wild horses made their way toward the opposite bank. They veered to the right and forded the river a few metres from our medical camp. I have never forgotten the majesty of that moment. Their heads were held high and their manes swayed as they galloped. It was worth the trip for that one moment in time.

Horses are noble creatures. They find place in poetic prophetic literature.

“Do you give the horse his strength or clothe his neck with a flowing mane? Do you make him leap like a locust, striking terror with his proud snorting? He paws fiercely, rejoicing in his strength and charges into the fray. He laughs at fear, afraid of nothing; he does not shy away from the sword. The quiver rattles against his side, along with the flashing spear and lance. In frenzied excitement he eats up the ground; he cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds. At the last sound of the trumpet he snorts, Aha! He catches the scent of battle from afar, the shout of commanders and the battle cry” — Job 39:19-25.

There has been a raging battle regarding the disposition of the remains of Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Catching a scent of the battle from afar, I posted on one right-wing blog that I would dig Tsarnaev up with a teaspoon if he found a resting place on American soil. This was prior to the disclosure that he was placed in a Muslim cemetery.

Unfortunately, a Bible-quoting therapist who probably wears a W W J D bracelet (What would Jesus do?) spearheaded an effort so that Tsarnaev’s remains could be buried. When hearing the news about the immense difficulty in finding a burial plot for Tsarnaev, Martha Mullen opined, “My first thought was Jesus said love your enemies.” As a Christian, I rejoin with an affirmative. But if there is one thing that I must emphasise at this point, it is the following. If we ask the wrong questions we will always come up with the wrong answer. Is this really about “loving our enemies?” Perhaps the correct question is the following: In the aftermath of tremendous tragedy how would Jesus respond to the living victims and to a national wound? The very nature of the W W J D bracelets is to remind us to be kind to our fellow traveller. Jesus would not explode bombs at the Boston Marathon.

Discernment for what is appropriate in this situation cannot be reduced to a ‘love your enemies’ paradigm. Jesus also said that anyone who harmed a child should have a millstone tied around their neck and cast into the sea. Based on these words, Tsarnaev should be shark bait.

Mullen also warbled, “Nobody is without sin.” Yep. But my sin is hiding a chocolate stash for solitary consumption. Tsarnaev’s sin is that of mass murder. Not all sins are created equal regarding ripple effect. Theological idiocy is insupportable.

Royally incensed, I run to the battle. Battles cannot be won with desertion. Neither can they be won with a complete loss of mental faculty, such as that exhibited by Ms Mullen. So let me snort, paw, and eat up the ground. My nostrils are flared and I run toward the sound of war. Politically correct wars are the messiest of affairs.

The less-than-intelligent buried Tsarnaev in a Muslim cemetery within the perimeter of Doswell, Virginia. It is a rural community. Invariably, Americans who seek out demographically sparse habitats value the gift of communal peace.

The Islamic Society of Greater Richmond assisted Mullen in arranging the burial and released a statement that included an ill-advised, “…what Tsarnaev did is between him and God.” Albeit understanding the context of the Day of Judgment, the rough edges of such a statement pierce my own heart. What Tsarnaev did affects multiple generations. He should have been laid to rest on a mountain peak with negligible foot traffic or dropped deeply into the sands of Death Valley 100 miles from the nearest road. Instead, his burial brings emotional upheaval to various religious communities. His burial also brings an economic drain to a small community that cannot bear the cost of assuring his grave will not be desecrated by people like me.

The images that assaulted my senses from the Boston Marathon bombing are a bit edgier than what the average public has viewed. Blood cries out. It cries out for vengeance. And in the throes of trauma, the self-appointed prophets who speak of love deliver a word that is as much out of season as the woman who miscarries her young in the first trimester. There was no soul in what Ms Mullen said. Trauma requires a level of comfort that is sufficient to the level of mourning. This lady prefers to rub salt in the wounds and heap emotional guilt on the guiltless. But then again, she still has her legs and toes properly attached. Snort!

Timothy McVeigh was cremated. His lawyer disposed of his ashes. The same should have been done with the corpse of Tamerlan Tsarnaev. We need a new suite of laws regarding the disposition of the remains of individuals who have committed murderous carnage against the innocent. The chain of custody at time of death should move from medical examiner to a crematorium. And yes, the family must be allowed to view the remains for their own confirmation of death. But we need new laws that dictate that an individual who commits heinous crimes abdicates the right for any due consideration regarding their own burial rites. Let their ashes be the reflection of wasted human potential.

The soil of our birth is sacred. I cannot explain it and neither can you. But the emotional root system into our native soil holds bold connotations and subtle nuances. We need laws which address this emotional component. In the meantime, pass me a teaspoon.

The writer is a freelance journalist and author of the novel Arsenal. She can be reached at tammyswof@msn.com