My heart is overwhelmed at thinking of the tragedy of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. This destruction of 80,000 persons by dropping of the Atomic Bomb, with many more dying as a result of radiation later, marked a turning point, in my mind, in the history of war and violence. As a friend once said the bomb blew out any rational for a ‘just’ war. Technology from bombs, missiles, assault weapons and killer drones has been the way to kill. Killing became depersonalized. Our president can sit down once a week with staff and authorize a ‘kill list’ of people suspected to be enemies and who he does not know and then go play with his children. Hiroshima desensitized us to killing, 1700 Palestinians killed by our arms and money in hands of Israeli is just accepted as necessary.

Perhaps there is something to learn from the garden of how to restore our sensitivities to death and destruction. If a garden, like my backyard garden, does not get good care, weeds grows, vines grow over treats and plants die. My insensitivity to the garden is destructive but there is hope. I can go out and take out the weeds and cut down the vines so plants and trees can grow. It is work but necessary to keep garden alive and well.

So be it with the evils of world. Racism, war and violence seem to be overwhelming. We can desensitize ourselves to them and numb ourselves or we can dig up the weeds and cut down the overhanging vines. This might mean work, calling things as they are, insults and rejections thrown at us, exposing the evil as what it is but it is the only way. Our souls, unless we pray, fast and act, will be overcome with weeds and vines, indifference and neglect. Do we have a choice but to bring out the hoe and pruning scissors? We need to strip away the weeds and prune the indifference of the garden of our soul.

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