Last Night

We spent last night at my sister and brother-in-law’s house.

The purpose was two-fold: one, to play some board games after the kids had gone to bed and two, to stay away from the violence that inevitably characterizes the night of September 11 in Chile.

The main road that runs between the apartment where we currently live and the neighborhood where my sister lives (and where our own house is located) is notorious for rioting and demonstrations. In fact, when disturbances are afoot, the traffic lights are actually taken down and stored for safekeeping (which would explain why driving home in the morning felt like a game of chicken when we reached the intersections where traffic lights had not yet been replaced!)

By 4:30 pm, gas stations and other businesses were closing up shop, putting wood and cardboard over their windows and even wrapping metal sheets around the gas pumps. In various parts of the city later that night, tires and even a few vehicles would be burned, tear gas confrontations between police and violent youths would take place, and acts of vandalism were to be expected.

The sad thing is, the young people involved in all of this are not even old enough to remember the events of the historical September 11 in Chile. They just use this night as an excuse for mayhem, and people and property are damaged as a result. While trying to explain to our children why the stores were closing and we were planning to stay indoors, this verse came to mind:

“ … men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” - John 3:19b