Tuesday, May 10, 2011

So Many Topics, So Many Thoughts...

So many things going on in the world. Osama Bin Laden, possibly the most hated man in the world, was killed by U.S. Navy SEAL Team 6 on Sunday. Or was he? There are so many conflicting stories coming from the White House that it’s hard to decipher the truth from the hype and fiction. I believe they got him. I see no reason for them to lie about it. They say they have DNA but we’ll never know if that’s true nor see the evidence. And if we could see it, how would be prove it to be his? Maybe it will have a label on it that says “Osama Bin Laden”. That should be good enough, right?

As I said – I see no reason for them to lie about it. However, the way things were handled afterward do leave a lot of questions in some people’s minds – even staunch leftists. Why were the SEALs sent in to kill him, regardless of the circumstances? If that wasn’t so, why did they shoot an unarmed man in the head? How long did they know where he was and why was the raid executed when it was? And the biggest question, I suppose – why dump the body at sea so there’s no evidence?

I know the official reason but that only makes a small amount of sense and only because Barack Obama is President. He says the U.S. was trying to give Bin Laden a Muslim funeral, within the required time limits, and put him somewhere that could not be turned into a shrine to that evil man. I can somewhat understand the last part but I guess it’s the first part that bothers me. This man planned and had carried out numerous bombings, murders of innocent people around the world, including over 3000 on 9/11/01 in the United States. We sent our military in to, for lack of a better word, assassinate him. He was unarmed and hiding behind a woman when he was shot in the head. We go into Pakistan, without their government’s permission, to carry out this secret mission, kill an unarmed man, and then worry about whether or not he gets a proper Muslim funeral? Is it me?


President Obama was in El Paso, Texas, today to promote immigration reform. During his remarks he said the borders are safer than they have ever been. Really, Mr. President? When we continue to hear about Americans getting killed on or near the border, in Mexico and in the U.S., and when our Homeland Security Chief, the former governor of Arizona, touts the safety of the borders even as she erects signs warning Americans not to go near the border for fear of their safety? Really?

I heard someone on a local radio show today say that the timing of President Obama’s killing of Osama Bin Laden was planned to draw attention away from the fact that our economy is starting to turn the other way again and unemployment numbers are going up. I don’t know whether that’s the reason or not but I do know if it was me, I’d have waited until a week before the election so the reaction in the polls would still be there on election day. But that would be dirty politics, wouldn’t it?


In other news, my dear sister-in-law, Tami, had to spend her first Mothers’ Day without the reason for her to celebrate it. How well I know that feeling. Fathers’ Day still gets to me every year. However, as I tried to explain to her, it will get easier and she will eventually celebrate the fact that she is a mom and always will be. She doesn’t believe me now and I fully understand that. When your only child dies you feel like you’re no longer a parent. You feel that if the child is no longer here you’re not a mother or a father. But the fact is, once you’re a parent you will always be a parent, whether the child is still here or not. And in time that fact will become obvious again. It may take a few years but your memories of the child, your love for the child, won’t let you deny him/her forever. The pain will never go away but most times, as time goes by, the memories and love far outweigh the pain.


A man who I will call my friend, even though we’ve never met face to face and we disagree about almost everything, is going to have a new daughter very soon. David and his wife are expecting their first baby any time. In fact, she’s a day or two late from what he has said. I want to wish them every happiness that goes with having a child of their own and wish them all a long, healthy and happy life. Some people worry it might hurt or upset me if they talk about their babies or how happy they are, once they know my circumstances. Honestly, I’m happy for them all. There is nothing in the world like the experience of having a child of your own. The love you have for your spouse, the one you married and who helped you create the child, pales in the light of the love you have for a child you created.

I suppose that sounds harsh but it’s a different love so it’s not as bad as it sounds. There is a connection between a parent and a child that is not there between a wife and a husband. It’s physical, genetic, and the only way to attain it is to create a new life from your own. So it’s not that you no longer love your spouse – normally it’s quite the contrary. Usually you love them even more because they helped you create this wonderful little person. But the love you have for a part of yourself is different and, in many ways, stronger. And it’s OK.


And one more thing… an old friend lost his father on Sunday, Mothers’ Day. How ironic and sad is that? It makes me think of my own father, who will be 90 on May 21st and is not well. For the last 11 years Dad has faced numerous health difficulties with a positive attitude, faith in God and a smile on his face. I thank God every day that my Dad is still here, even as I understand that one of these days God will take him. John – you have my deepest sympathies. May God comfort you and your family in this time of sorrow.

I guess I’m done for tonight. I hope the world gets a little better tomorrow and that everyone has, or finds. what they need to make it through another day. Life can be difficult but it can also be so wonderful. Go out and make yours wonderful.

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