Ding-dong, the Witch is dead...

I interrupt this cheerful family-centered blog to bring you my thoughts on this historic event: Osama bin Laden is dead.

Those who know me are well aware that I have liberal political leanings. Let's get that out of the way, in the interest of full disclosure.

Like everyone born after 1990, I remember very clearly where I was on September 11, 2001. I was two months away from giving birth to my first child, watching the Today Show at my house in Connecticut, out of graduate school classes for the day. I cried, I was angry, I knew life would never be the same, I was afraid I'd never feel safe again, and I cringed to think that my child would never know a world without the after-effects of that day. When President Bush announced the US military was headed into Afghanistan to find and kill the mastermind of this attack, I was not wholly unopposed. My pacifism started to waver. Just war. Not "just" war, but A Just War. Maybe?

It's been nearly 10 years, and just this evening, President Obama announced that we--the US military, acting on information from the US intelligence community and under orders from the Commander in Chief--found and killed Osama bin Laden. Finally! But did I do the Happy Dance? I did not. Because killing is, for lack of a better word, crappy. It doesn't feel GOOD. I do think bin Laden deserved to die. Frankly, it's not even a tough call for me to say that, but I am conflicted because I think it SHOULD be a tough call for me to say that.

A state-sanctioned/ordered death, even in a military context, is akin to the death penalty. I'm opposed to the death penalty for a few pretty basic reasons. Justice, as carried out by human beings, is imperfect. Judges and juries make mistakes. People who should be punished aren't and innocent people are sometimes punished when they should not be. It is primarily for this reason that I oppose the death penalty. You can't undo it if you discover later that you've made an error. According to some sources, it's happened at least 39 times--that we know of--in recent US history, no doubt countless more times the world over. Not to mention all the people we've freed after years in prison when we realized our mistake before we got to the execution day (130 since the mid-1970s, 10 in 2010 alone). Second, we've proven over and over again that the death penalty is not a deterrent. People don't avoid committing capital crimes because they're afraid of being killed by the State. We don't execute people publicly or swiftly (that whole due process thing, protected by the Constitution), so it's a no-go. Finally, I believe in Jesus Christ and try hard to follow his teachings, and he was super clear about the whole killing thing. Don't do it.

That's one angel on my shoulder.

Then there's the other one, reminding me how I felt on and after 9/11, showing me the images of those who lost their lives that day, gently giving voice to US soldiers who've died fighting this guy and his minions, giving voice to the soldiers' families, telling me again about the people in Afghanistan whose lives have been destroyed by this war we're waging, all because of Osama bin Laden. This angel on my shoulder wants me to remember my anger and to feel justified that someone (my country) acted on it.

Osama bin Laden was 100% guilty. There is no doubt he committed the crimes. The thousands who died in attacks he ordered, the thousands who died defending him and his movement, the thousands who died fighting him and his movement, and the thousands who die not fighting at all, but just trying to survive in the war-ravaged lands he inhabited: the blood of all these people is on his hands. So my first argument doesn't hold water. There could be no error.

However, my second argument still stands. Nothing about killing bin Laden will stop the killing that his rantings have spawned. Extremists and terrorists still thrive and may well be empowered by bin Laden's death, to become more active. So penalizing bin Laden with death doesn't stop anything.

And my third argument still stands. Jesus taught us to love our enemies, to turn the other cheek, to disregard the "eye-for-an-eye" commandment. Revenge is not a Christian tenet, though justice is. He was VERY clear. Love one another.

So I'm one-for-three. I feel a little alone as I fail to celebrate and update my Facebook status with four exclamation points.

Osama bin Laden was evil. I'm not sad that he's dead. But the jubilant atmosphere in the Washington and New York streets tonight feels wrong. I can't find a way to love Osama, as Jesus commanded, but I just can't bring myself to rejoice in the death of another person, no matter how inhuman he seemed. Hopefully, those who have lost loved ones or livelihood because of this man can find some closure and peace in knowing he is dead. The soldiers who have fought and died trying to find him--or supporting the mission to find him--deserve our gratitude and our support, as do their families. I can acknowledge the historical significance of this day, but don't ask me to celebrate it.

The pundits on the 24-hour news networks and the wanna-be pundits on Facebook and Twitter will spin this every which way. Who deserves the credit and who doesn't deserve the credit? What will happen in Afghanistan and Pakistan now? Are we safer? Are we in more danger? Who is the bad guy now? Not many people will stop to wonder if killing bin Laden was the right thing to do from a political, military, or ethical standpoint. I'm conflicted--I wanted him to be dead, but I don't feel good about wanting that.

I'd love some civilized feedback. Bring it, y'all...

She's 7!

Rebecca turned 7 and invited a few friends to celebrate at the movies with her. We saw Gnomeo and Juliet, the Shakespeare story told by, well, garden gnomes. I wish I could tell you whether or not it was a cute movie--but as the primary party host, I was shuffling kids to and from the bathroom and refilling their popcorn/soda trays. The theater gave us the party room, where we enjoyed cookie cake and italian ice, then we were whisked behind-the-scenes where the film reels are kept and the birthday girl got to start one of the movies! She glowed with excitement all afternoon!

The Anti-Snow Bubble Bursteth

There have been blizzards, snowmageddons of ginormous proportion, across the USA this winter. Many places had a white Christmas, including parts of Florida, and warmish places along the eastern seaboard. With each icy swath seen on The Weather Channel map, we hoped for our piece of snowy heaven. Local weathermen would be giddy with predictions, but each time, they'd back down on accumulation totals in the days leading up to the storm. "The DC metro area will see 8-10 inches...no, wait, 6-8 inches...actually, just 1-2 inches...okay, we can expect a dusting by mid-morning."

We were in the Anti-Snow Bubble. To the north of us, kids made snow angels out the wazoo. To the south of us, colonial Williamsburg was snuggled into an icy blanket. Even Virginia Beach, to the east of us, was powder white. Now, our New England neighbors are buried, as are my Midwestern buddies; they are begging for mercy. Over and over again, the snow passed us by.

Until last week! Twelve glorious inches of perfect packing-and-sledding snow! Hooray! After about two days of out-of-school kiddos, wearing boots to work and grimy salty/sandy cars, I was ready for Spring. So, thank you, Snow Angel of Winter Goodness, but I am now finished with you. You may peddle your wares elsewhere. But feel free to visit next winter!

Merry Christmas!

How The Grinch Made Our Christmas Eve Awesome

On Christmas Eve Day, we headed to National Harbor for ICE! featuring the story of How the Grinch Stole Christmas carved in ice. Lots and lots of huge blocks of ice. Aunt Meredith was in town and joined us as well. We donned blue parkas to enter the exhibit, where it's a chilly 9 degrees at all time. Best part? Freezing our tushies off on the ice slides!

Home Sweet Home!

The luck o' the schedule (my work schedule, that is) meant I had 6 days in a row off smack-dab in the middle of December. Six days off?! Let's get in the car and drive home! We celebrated Christmas with both sets of grandparents, & we got to see our friends, hang with our families, and get homesick all over again...

Madison Square Garden Hosts the Memphis Tigers (and us)

Thanks to our fellow Memphian-turned-Virginian Brian, we had the honor of watching our hometown Tigers play basketball at Madison Square Garden in NYC. We played Kansas, ranked #2 at the time, and actually held our own in the first half, though we only led for a few seconds. The half-time score gave us the false hope that we had a chance. Alas, we fell apart in the second half, BUT it was quite somethin' to be in that historic arena, watching our young team up close, and cheering them on!