PlazaJen: Passion Knit

Two months ago, when I heard on the radio that she was returning to her homeland, I knew Benazir Bhutto would be killed. Not when, nothing specific, but that some day, she would become a martyr for democracy in her country of Pakistan. Sadly, that day came all too quickly. I always admired her - Harvard educated, beautiful - and saw her as a role model, in a world where Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan are held up as icons for young women.

I don't profess to have a vast understanding of the politics of Pakistan, or what makes a person so fervidly believe in their cause that they strap explosives to their body and kill as many people as possible while also ending their own life. I know Bhutto fervently believed in her cause, and what role she could play in bringing about change. In an odd way, two similarly driven people collided, on the opposite sides of a cause.

I wonder if there are just some of us humans who are prone to feeling passionate about a cause, an issue, and whether it is through conditioning, or something in our genetic makeup, that allows them to maintain such a steadfast hold on their belief, their cause, no matter the price. I've felt that surge inside of me, about numerous issues, but they don't take hold of my daily existence. I think it would be close to manic. Much talk today has focused on how aware she was of the risks, how she knew it was likely she would be killed. And yet she pressed on. But whatever it was that drove her, Bhutto contributed to the world, even touching my small part of it. I am sad that her light is gone.