Violent reality hits home

And so now it comes home.
Before, it might have been easy to distance oneself from the dreadful events in Syria and Iraq, where those who call themselves the Islamic State hold sway.
But not anymore.
Now it comes home.
Peter Kassig, who now goes by the name Abdul Rahman, is a Hoosier. And he’s the next in line for death by beheading at the hands of terrorists/radicals/madmen.
He sounds like a fascinating and complicated young man.
He was an Army Ranger. He was a student at Butler University. He comes from a long line of ancestors who believed in service to others. And he was so in synch with the tribulations of the people of Syria that it came as no surprise when he converted to Islam.
As we said, he is a fascinating and complicated young man.
But today he is in the hands of murderous forces, and with every hour that passes his fate grows dimmer.
Watching the video of his parents pleading for mercy on the part of his captors, listening to them explain his humanitarian work on the part of the citizens of Syria, it was impossible not to share their feeling of helplessness.
The gulf between their love and grief and the cruelty poised against their son was something that could not be fathomed.
It’s difficult to suppress a scream: He was trying to help! He is not your enemy! Let him go!
At the same time, there is the sad but inevitable realization that the scream will not be heard, that there’s little the U.S. or the West can do to change his fate and that he will not be the last.
Now it comes home. —J.R.