We’ve all seen the photos of the explosions, the blood-stained streets and the injured victims.
We’ve heard the stories from the people whose lives were feared for and we all watched in horror, the video footage of the dual bombings that took place April 15 at the Boston Marathon finish line.
The tragic events of the bombings in Boston left many Americans disgusted and confused by the fact that another human being could inflict such pain on others.
Similar to previous unexpected tragedies, government conspiracy theories have surfaced on the Web regarding who is responsible and enemy countries have been accused of releasing acts of terrorism against the United States.
An uneasy feeling has once again covered our country and its people, leaving many feeling unsafe and uncertain where they have felt safe before.
In the midst of all this chaos and confusion; we as a country have let fear, disgust and anger toward the people responsible for the horrific acts overshadow and blind us to the courageous and admirable acts of Boston Marathon‘s own “Good Samaritans.”
In what many witnesses described as “a war zone,” police, emergency-medical technicians, random people and bystanders at the marathon risked their lives and reacted quickly to help victims they may or may not have known before.
Boston residents all over the city were quick to respond and were willing to help the victims of the bombings as well.
These residents went as far as to open their homes to anyone who needed a place to stay.
Some offered cars as shuttles.
Other locals quickly brought food and drinks from their homes to help runners that were stranded when thousands of marathoners were abruptly stopped less than a mile from the finish.
Businesses offered Internet connections to the victims in order for them to get a hold of their families. Restaurants offered free food.
Another simple, yet admirable act from a bystander came from an elderly lady, who stood at the scene of the bombings and wept and prayed for the victims and the families of those affected by the tragic events, until she was moved by police officers and other personnel to a safer place.
Random people were coined heroes the day of the bombings as well.
Carlos Arrendondo, or as he is more famously known as “The Man in the Cowboy Hat,” was just another bystander, attending the marathon to honor the death of his son who was a Marine and had been killed in Iraq.
His selfless courage highlighted him as a hero at the Boston Marathon.
Arrendondo saved a man whose legs were blown off by the bombings, by pinching the victim’s severed arteries in his thigh closed and assisting the injured man to medical staff, all while offering him words of comfort.
Other heroes from the marathons included numerous doctors, nurses and medical personnel who were not on duty, but were quick to respond to wherever they were needed.
One particular doctor, Dr. Vivek Shah was just about to finish running the marathon and as he approached the finish line, the first and second bombs had went off.
Instead of running away from the scene, like many others, he ran to find his family who had been waiting for him.
While looking for his family, news reports say Shah saw numerous people lying on the ground who were in need of a doctor.
Without hesitation, Shah put his own worries about his family aside and assisted whoever needed it.
Lastly, former New England Patriots Lineman Joe Andruzzi, already coined a hero on the football field, became a hero to a woman he never met before, as he helped evacuate her and her daughters from the bombing sites.
Andruzzi and a team of about 21 other people, including his wife, had been running in the marathon in sponsorship of his foundation. That is when he saw the injured woman being carried by her two daughters and offered a helping hand.
It’s so easy to forget the beauty in humanity when tragic events like the Boston marathon bombings take lives of the innocent.
However, these stories that are just a few of the many stories, display there is still beauty in humanity.
The good should reassure us that when evil strikes heroes will rise out of that situation to overcome it.
