Westminster attack- two characters under the spotlight

Yesterday PC Keith Palmer lost his life when a terrorist attacked him with a knife after driving a van right into people on Westminster Bridge and attempting to attack the Houses of Parliament in the centre of London.

Many people were killed and injured, and the attack has shaken British people. The Prime Minister, Theresa May, said this, "The terrorists chose to strike at the heart of our capital city where all nations, religions and cultures come together to celebrate the values of liberty, democracy and freedom of speech."

At the centre of the tragedy are two men whose actions highlight extremes of character. At one extreme is the police officer who lost his life. In the moment of crisis, he displayed courage- courage so strong that it cost him his life. Was this a value worth dying for? Yes, surely it was- many people have taken to social media to praise and thank him for his remarkable character. We recognise in his actions a person who, when it counted, showed us the best a person can be. He not only knew what was right, he acted on it. I doubt he had much time to think about it- he was able to act in this way was because of the sort of person he was, a person who had already decided that he was prepared to spend his life protecting others.

At the other extreme is the terrorist. There is little news about him at present, meaning all we can do is wonder. What leads another person to act in this way? Presumably he had given his actions time, thought and planning. He had had plenty of opportunities to reflect on his plan, and to change his mind. We find little if anything to admire in his behaviour. He showed none of the aspects of character which we aspire to. What was he driven by? Did he operate under a different view of what it means to be fully human? Did he surround himself with others who congratulated him on his plan and named it as bravery?

How can two such different beliefs about bravery both exist? One so destructive, while the other protects life? We could say both men acted selflessly, thinking not about the cost to themselves but about the effect of their actions on others. Both were driven by their characters, by what they valued most.

A tragedy such as this causes us to pause and think deeply about human life, and what it looks like at its best and its worst.
We need someone bigger than ourselves to direct us away from the worst and towards the light of the best we can be.

Anyone who claims to live in God’s light and hates a brother or sister is still in the dark. It’s the person who loves brother and sister who dwells in God’s light and doesn’t block the light from others. But whoever hates is still in the dark, stumbles around in the dark, doesn’t know which end is up, blinded by the darkness.
1 John 2:9-11