Boston proves it's not just the streets of heaven that are crowded with angels

"The streets of heaven are too crowded with angels tonight." - Martin Sheen as President Josiah Bartlett in The West Wing.

Two bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday afternoon. Three dead. More than 140 injured. Scores of people displaced by evacuations and closings. Millions more trying to make sense of the carnage. It was, surely, a horrific day for the participants of the Boston Marathon, the first responders and emergency personnel, the people of Boston, and anyone with a loved one gone, hurt, lost, or even in the surrounding area. For the rest of us, it was, at the very least, difficult to stomach.

On days like these—like with the shooting in Newtown and the Aurora massacre—I can't help but recall a speech from the fourth season of Aaron Sorkin's The West Wing. As trivial as it might seem that, amid all of the destruction and havoc and death and chaos, I go to sleep re-watching an 11-year-old episode of a lofty, political, network drama, I find it incredibly soothing. Martin Sheen's President Josiah Bartlett delivers a speech in the wake of a pipe bomb explosion at an American university.   Recently, I've felt the need to go back and watch "20 Hours in America" far too frequently, But, whenever I do, especially on days like yesterday, Bartlett's message about good and evil rings increasingly poignant.