Is that Anthony in Iraq?

I just had a strange experience watching a CNN video online. There’s a guy in Iraq that looks just like me (Anthony) — only skinnier–same beard, same glasses, same body language. You have to go almost to the end of the video, at 5 min. 10 seconds into it to see him. The video itself is pretty interesting. Called “Ramadi the example?“*, it’s about the admittedly precarious transformation that has occurred over the past few months in the city of Ramadi.

I’m glad it’s my look-alike and not me that’s in Iraq, but it is a moment for sober thought as well. It could be me. Who would I be, how would I react, what choices would I make had I been born in such a place? I’m not even sure if the guy is an American or an Iraqi. It doesn’t matter, really. This nameless look-alike is just as precious in the eyes of God as I am, God cares just as deeply about his life as he does mine. I can see hundreds of faces and not really recognize that that these are precious people, but for a very self-centered moment, that awareness has become real to me.

*I haven’t been able to figure out how to link to the CNN video.  Try pasting this link into your browser’s address bar:

javascript:cnnVideo(‘play’,’/video/world/2007/05/15/robertson.ramadi.colonel.cnn’);

and look for a new window to open.  Otherwise, go to CNN.com and search for “Ramadi,” and look for the video links on the right.  I don’t know how long the link will remain active.