The End of a Mad Man

On May 1, 2011, an elite group of Navy SEALS...at the command of President Obama... killed Usama bin Laden at a heavily guarded mansion compound in Pakistan.
The Mad Man behind Al Qaeda and the September 11, 2001 attacks is dead.
Justice has been served.
And the folks who lost friends and relatives to that terrible day may now begin to find the closure that has been eluding them for a decade.

But should we Americans celebrate the death of another human being?
Certainly, bin Laden needed to pay for his evil...and death was a fair end.
I believe that we should take this time to start the HEALING PROCESS...to let the pain and loss and horror GO...to finally breath a sigh of relief and start living with just a little less fear...
Having expressed this notion on my Facebook Wall, I have encountered far too many people who feel the need to hold on to that sad and terrible day...to the details of the destruction and death...to keep it close like some kind of  cancerous tumor that slowly eats away at LIFE.
To those who say we must never forget 9-11, I say...
At some point we MUST let go of 9-11. If we don't, we are doomed to become like the WWII vets, Korea vets, and Nam vets...and some of their friends and family...who fight their wars every day of their lives, infiltrating every aspect of their existence, ultimately destroying them. When THAT happens, the ENEMY has finally won.

Sadly, I think it DOES destroy lives to keep such events fresh in our minds. That is why the VA hospitals and the STREETS...ah, yes the STREETS... are filled with veterans who can't stop fighting a war...or wars...that ended decades ago. Our heroic service people are the greatest victims of all...of this "never forgetting". When a LIFE comes to a creative and vital END, even if the person is breathing and going through the motions of their days, THAT ending...that loss of quality...that being trapped in the past and fighting a war that is endless...THAT is simply another victory for the ENEMY.
If ultimately forgetting the tragedies...not the HEROISM, but the tragedies...of wars and such can help to SAVE those lives, and further vanquish our foes, then FORGET WE MUST.

 

At some point, our Country MUST begin to HEAL. 

Peace...;)

Why ?

Yesterday, near Tucson, Arizona, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head while holding a neighborhood political meeting at her local Safeway Grocery Store.
She wasn't the only victim...19 others were shot...6 killed, one of whom was a 9-year old little girl.

Jared Loughner was the one...the one who pulled the trigger, and kept pulling it.
And all in the name of POLITICS...POLITICAL IDEALS...POLITICAL BELIEFS.

So WHY are Americans so surprised by this violence?
Have they not been listening to the venom that courses through the nation's most recent political rhetoric? Rhetoric that started right after President Obama was elected? Rhetoric brought to volatile levels during the campaigns leading to the last election? Political venom promoted by far too many...

Freedom of Speech...
Choices made...

Maybe so...but, maybe no...

We are going through very tough economic and social times now. People being people, they must blame someone/something else for their lot in Life...something/someone else besides themselves and their own actions.
Democrats...a Black President...a State Representative targeted in the crosshairs on a former governor's web site...Abortion Rights...Illegal Immigrants...the list of "reason" is truly endless.

So, then, when all is said and done, WHO is at fault?
Blame replaces ACCOUNTABILITY...Blame shifts the focus from CHOICE to MOTIVATION/INSPIRATION. It also makes it much easier to use words like "mental issue"..."deranged"..."crazy"...when speaking about the one, or ones, who commit the violence.

And yet, we MUST ask...
If it were not for the speeches and web sites pushing and prodding people towards violent behavior...violence as a necessary solution for our problems...would it still happen in the form it has taken?
If the answer is unanimously YES, then so be it...
But, if the answer is a resounding NO, then those promoting the madness MUST BE, by the very nature of their message, be held ACCOUNTABLE.

I was born in 1956, and grew up during the Civil Rights and Viet Nam War Eras.
As a teenager, I was active in movements to give equal rights to all folks and to end a war that no one wanted.
Throughout my activist years, the greatest ACTION...the most productive ACTION...was that which was inspired by WORDS and NON-VIOLENCE.
PEACE was a lifestyle, not just a notion.
Political change was ignited by editorials and speeches...by sit-ins and marches...by rallies and meetings... all calling for a new Way of LIVING and treating our fellow Human Beings.
In the end, true political change took place through a paradigm shift in THINKING and ACTING, and, ultimately, through the VOTE.

And yet, Human History is filled with examples of VIOLENCE being used to force CHANGE...for better, or for worse...

Was Loughner simply listening to the voice of his HUMAN NATURE ?

I would like to believe that WE are better than that...that WE have evolved beyond the NEED for violence as the answer...that we have replaced our baser "demons" with our gentler "angels".
Yet every day...in far too many communities...there is a news story that points to our "demons" winning the race.

Something to ponder...

Peace...;)

A New Year

Well, 2011 is here, and it is most definitely Time for some restructuring of LIFE...mine, in particular.

I have had several "projects" on the fire for some time, now, and have been constantly find excuses for NOT getting into them and getting them rocking and rolling...
The TIME OF PROCRASTINATION is OVER !!

As of yesterday, I have begun my BLOG and FACEBOOK PAGE for ALONG THE ASPHALT TRAIL.
Those avenues for information and exposure are the best Ways for me to go at this Time...
As things progress, a web site will be developed.
But, first things first...;)

Also, I have decided to purposely LIMIT the NEGATIVE influences in my Life.
No, not fall into the "Ostrich Complex" and hiding the head in the sand...
More like developing a real "filter" for keeping stuff that is important/necessary/can be fixed/cool in my Life and letting go of the stuff that simply adds weight to my Spirit.

This new Year...2011...is going to be a Time for incredible PERSONAL GROWTH...on ALL LEVELS !!

More later...gotta do some more stuff, then take The Kids for their "nooner walks".

Peace...;)