The ugliness of the world intrudes on us as it will, even here in York, Maine.
This past weekend's shocking murder and the recent assault on a local girl as she rode her bike to work on a quiet summer morning, remind us that there is evil in this world, and that we need to be aware of it, even in the postcard town in which we live.
Our local police often talk to us about this, about the need to keep vigilant, to know your neighbors and to watch out for them as well. For most of us, we brush it off until events shock us back into the reality of the dark edges of the world we all live in.
But while these unsettling reminders serve as a check to our complacency, we need to keep them in perspective as well. These events shock us because they happen so rarely here, a thing which we should take some assurance in, because the rarity of it is in large part a result of who we are as a community, and how we live. Knowing your neighbors and remaining vigilant may have occasional downsides, but keeping this town safe is not one of them.
