Mother's Day, the death of Osama bin Laden, and my ol' friend Dan Kinch.

Mother's Day is coming up, and instead of images of childhood and innocence, and joyous wonder, here on the heels of the announcement on May 1st(the death of Osama bin Laden), it is only death, destruction, and shame and fear, which threaten to consume my thoughts.
Mother's Day celebrates not only Mothers, but us who sprang from them.It is we who lift up our Mothers as those who nurtured us in the most crucial of ways, offering support and love--if we are so blessed--unconditionally, and forever, to us.Mothers are those who see the best we have to offer; we are never the worst act we've committed; we are first, and always, that Mother's child....
Just days after the announcement of the killing of Osama bin Laden, I pondered on my Facebook Wall, whether we (USA) should be "celebrating"(in private or public), the death of anyone, even (or maybe especially) an avowed enemy, like Osama bin Laden.The responses on Facebook, had the negative ones been in red ink, would have made my Facebook Wall appear as if it was bleeding. I was expecting a few "attaboys" from my more conservative(read:right-wing) Facebook Friends, but did not expect the kind of non-apology, and blind acceptance/following by my more Liberal and Progressive Friends, of our (USA) committing violence in the name of (ironically) putting an end to violence."
I think it surprised me, because I have "reasonable" friends...all of them were hurt by September 11th, some of them very directly so, and none of them supported our invasion of Iraq, though several supported bombing Afghanistan.Most of my friends, poets, actors, novelists, playwrights, spoke of understanding and compassion; they spoke of moving forward, not holding onto "blind hate." They SPOKE of it, they WROTE about it, but I am not sure that I ever saw or felt true forgiveness exhibited, in any of these (otherwise fine) folk.
One person in particular may surprise you, my readers, with his views on Forgiveness, as he was working approximately 800 feet from the Twin Towers that fateful September 11th morning...
I'm considering asking dear ol' pal, Dan Kinch from NYC, to guest-edit my blog, "Lisa Alender Writes" and perhaps "Practice What You Peace" for a day or two, as his own personal narrative is so compelling, that for me to tell it, would I'm afraid, never do it the thing we all wish for, and seem to keep speaking about.....justice.
Stay tuned.
For more on how to feel about Osama bin Laden's death, or perhaps how to re-frame it, please go to:
www.paxchristiusa.org
to read a statement by them, about this matter.
And Peace, kids, Peace.

Because I'm Not A Nihilist.

So this past week has seen the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing.
The worst case of domestic terrorism ever seen in the U.S., it still feels surreal to recall it.
Only a few years later,my niece would take a trip to Oklahoma, to visit family, and she said to me "I'm going to that place where the bomb was..." She was 9 at that time.
Only a few years after that, on 9/11, she spoke to me from her home in Atlanta, (I was visiting Los Angeles at that time). She made me promise to be safe.
"Don't go in any big buildings, Aunt Lisa...", she wailed.
She shared a tragic story with me: a close friend had an Aunt who was in the World Trade Center, and she could not be found.The terror in her voice was there, same as a few years earlier.
It struck me then, that her whole childhood had been marred by terrorism,in one form or another.Besides the attacks I've already mentioned, there were others, very close-to-her-home:
1996--The Olympics in Atlanta, and the bombing at Centennial Olympic Park
1997--The bombing of a building in Atlanta(Sandy Springs area) which housed women's reproductive-care and in a separate incident, a gay nightclub, also in Atlanta(Midtown area).
And still others:
1999--Columbine, and the worst school shooting in the history (at that time) of this country, at a suburban Denver high school.
2007--The new record of death, this time at Virginia Tech University.

I cannot imagine growing up thinking life can be obliterated in a second.
Even though I grew up in an age when we all knew that not just a bomb, but "THE bomb" could fall at any second.....it DIDN'T.
Even though I saw war play out--for real--on nightly television, I felt safe.
Even though I saw great men assasinated, I believed good would ultimately, triumph.
Even though I saw (some) police and others, deliberately injure people of color as they silently, andnon-violently protested for their rights, I believed we could overcome.
In the chaotic, anything-can-happen of the mid-1990's-to-now, what can we do to let our younger people know it will get better, that life is still good,and that good, will keep getting better, even as evil rises, and ultimately, falls?
Peace, kids.