The tragedy that unfolded over the last few days in Mumbai will require some time to process, but I think it is hard to overstate what a big deal this is.  For those who haven’t been there or who don’t have much first-hand exposure to India, Mumbai is a beautiful, complicated, sprawling, cosmopolitan city — so imagine what it would mean, for example, to have heavily-armed terrorists in New York City at the Plaza Hotel, Trump Towers, Grand Central Station and Madison Square Garden over the course of four days.

For Mumbai to be under siege for so many days will doubtless have serious repercussions in the psyche of that city and its residents, and the potential for these events to exacerbate tensions between India and Pakistan is troublesome to say the least.

My prayers go out to all of those who lost loved ones in recent days.

I also hope that someday we will live in a world where reports of tragedies like this one won’t single out the number of “foriegners” who were killed.  We are all human beings, and each life is of equal value.  With each article that is written, the news media can either reinforce or undermine this basic truth.