Benazir Bhutto

I was sad to hear that Benazir Bhutto was killed today. I mean, of course I am sadden whenever I hear that someone has been killed, but this death hit me a little harder than usual. I listen to NPR a lot, and it seems that almost everyday they report on the death of a soldier in Afghanistan. Or a suicide bomber in Iraq that caused massive casualties. Or a natural disaster, or a tragic accident, or etc. etc. etc. I hear reports about death on a fairly frequent basis, (as does anyone who follows the news) so it surprised me to feel a strong emotion about a person that I have never met, and know almost nothing about.

I have been thinking about it all day, and I think I have figured out why this one hurt more than the others. It's because that, mostly unconsciously, Benazir Bhutto was a symbol to me. She was one of the only women in the Islamic world with any real political power. And she was an advocate for human rights, democracy, and civilian rule in a region of the world that is well known for its violence, repression, and despotism. So for me, she represented the people in the Middle East who were calling for reform, who were calling for freedom. And rightly or wrongly, to me she was a symbol, my symbol, of hope.