There was another horrible violent tragedy this week. In Boston, Massachusetts, in an area where, and at a time when, there would be lots of unsuspecting people, two bombs were detonated. There was the time when this sort of crime would have been startling, extraordinary, but now, sad to say, it hardly registers.

The responses are fairly predictable by now. At the beginning, there is chaos, but not as much as there used to be. That’s good. We have learned many lessons from the past and our safety officials have become adept at almost any situation in which they find themselves.

In another way, that’s bad. It’s unfortunate that we have been through this scene so many times that our responses have become automatic. It is sad that there is no community in this great country of ours immune to violence and crime. There are no more “easy” streets.

Mayors, governors, and even the president weigh in on the tragedies. I’m sure their responses are heartfelt, but, once again, there seems to be no power in their words to prevent these sorts of happenings.

“Breaking News from Boston” this time, but in the past the names have been Oklahoma City, New York City, Fort Hood, Virginia Tech, Tucson, Aurora, Newtown, and I can’t even remember all of them. There have been too many.

After the crime, there is the resolve that we hear. The mayor, governor, or president says something like, “We will find out who did this and the full extent of the law will be used to …..”

Sure enough, in just a short period of time, a suspect or suspects are found and taken into custody. If there is anything that is amazing about our responses, it is that the law enforcement agencies find the culprits so quickly. It seems to me like finding the needle in the haystack.

As things normally go, so far, so good. We have very gifted and dedicated people hunting down these criminal terrorists. But, once they are found, then we seem to lose the battle of expediency even when we have proved, beyond doubt, their guilt.

The clear payment for their crimes is delayed until the payment has lost its effectiveness as a deterrent. There is no fear for those who might want to follow in the footsteps of these modern-day criminals.

Remember 9/11? That’s been how many years? More than 10 years have passed. The five defendants are imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and are still yanking our chains and complaining about lawyers, telephone calls, hacked emails, etc. Think they fear the USA?

What about Fort Hood, the egregious act of one Major Hasan, for whom there is no doubt? He has been identified as jumping up on the table and killing 13 and wounding 30 more while yelling his version of “Glory to God!” No question as to guilt. Yet, this fall it will be four years and we are still waiting for a trial!

We cannot prevent every evil person who is intent on doing evil in this huge country. That’s impossible, but one thing is not. If they choose to create havoc and harm to innocents, we can try to hold them to “one and done.”