Sometimes (actually, most of the time) it's not all about us

Shawn Macomber writes about the visit of Paul Rusesabagina ("the hero who inspired the film Hotel Rwanda") to New Hampshire.

Here's Rusesabagina on conscience and responsibility: "If I had left these people, and they had been killed, I never would have been a free man in my life . . . I would have been a prisoner of my conscience forever.”

And here's Rusesabagina's sensible and un-P.C. definition of peacekeeping:

"We had placed our hope in the United Nations". . . "We had placed our hope in the international community. But we were left completely on our own. I saw with my own eyes those who also had confidence in the United Nations, gathered in schools; gathered in churches. I saw them begging U.N. soldiers as they were leaving, 'Please, take us with you. Because if you don’t, we are going to be murdered.'"
. . .

"What we need is not neutral observers . . . Civilians can be neutral observers. What we need are peacemakers. We need soldiers who can come in and defend civilians."

Blessed are the peacemakers, indeed. But we in the West have the luxury of ignoring the fact that peace is often maintained by those who are willing to use violence to defend the peace and to protect innocents.