In Remembrance

It’s September 11th. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t remember where they were on that day. As I write, I’m watching news reports from that day. Tim Russert gave a report which brought tears. No one knew why this happened. Everyone was transfixed by this horrible event. I remember feeling such disbelief at what I saw. How could something like this happen here?

Over the last thirteen years, we went to war in a country harboring the people who did this. But we’ve also gone to war with a country that had nothing to do with it at all. Typical. And now that same country is dealing with an even greater threat by extremists apparently far nastier than Al-Qaida. President Obama spoke to the country last evening to explain this threat and how he plans to deal with it.

Here we go again.

John McCain, who by all that is holy should be retired by now, is already out front talking about how the President doesn’t understand anything. Pot meet kettle, dude. You lost. Deal with it. It was six years ago. Take a vacation. Go to Alaska and visit that ding dong you wanted as your replacement. On second thought, don’t go there. Wasilla has had enough nonsense. I spent three years of my life there as a child. At that time, Wasilla had only 100 residents. It was idyllic and amazing. I loved it. I lived there during the 9.2 earthquake in 1964, right next to Wasilla Lake. Sarah’s family apparently moved there in 1964. Who knew. It was interesting at the time reading comments from locals, some of whom my family knew, about her during the election. It appeared that most simply endured her while shaking their heads. Can you imagine it? There’d have been snowmobile races on the White House lawn. And yes, I said snowmobile. When did all this snow machine crap get started? Snow machines are machines that create snow.

We came together that day. It was easy to do. But that didn’t last long. If any of us spoke out against the impending war response, we were labeled traitors. We were said to be with the terrorists. How ridiculous. We have a First Amendment for a reason. There was a color coded threat level chart and the media cooperated fully with keeping everyone afraid and under control. Duct tape and plastic were thought to be enough to deal with anything the terrorists could throw at us. Then the Assault Weapons Ban went away and now people bring assault weapons into restaurants and big box stores, threatening women who are part of the gun sense movement for speaking out against this ridiculous choice. Nancy Pelosi was elected Speaker causing every conservative man’s head to explode. I had a guy come into the shop I owned at the time, bitching about how dangerous she was, however he couldn’t seem to explain what that consisted of. Then, this man who had always respected boundaries, picked up a paper clip, grabbed my hand, and with a creepy look on his face, he began drawing it across my palm. I guess my look of horror was so great that he abruptly stopped. To this very day, I have no idea what that was about, but it compromised our relationship completely. He gripped my hand so tightly that I couldn’t get away until HE chose to let go. He leaves, goes on his merry way, while I’m left speechless. He was in his late sixties at the time, so responding with a wrist lock of some kind didn’t feel right. Plus, I had considered him a friend up to that point. But for the love of the Goddess, I am a Black Belt. Although I was ill at the time, I could have seriously ruined his day if I wanted to.

And then in 2008 we elected Barack Obama as our President. Conservative reaction to this has made our country a laughing stock around the world. Our police departments look more like military units than Officer Friendly. Republicans and their offshoots are willing to destroy this country rather than work with our President. They want everyone to believe that it’s because he’s a Democrat. Right. If we thought that racism was over, we were sadly mistaken. Cannabis is about to be legalized everywhere. This will happen more quickly when the 1% figures out a way to capitalize on it and control the industry. Women are being targeted in their personal lives and by conservative policies. And the NFL can’t seem to understand that violence against women is worth firing players over.

I voted twice for President Obama. I’d do it again even in spite of his reluctance to legalize cannabis. His election suggested that we were capable of something different. His election suggested that we were ready to come together, united in purpose. I still believe this. What we’re seeing now, is the last vestiges of a world view that doesn’t serve anyone. We go forward together. Separately, we go nowhere. What happened on 9/11 should resonate with everyone. It matters who we are to each other. It matters who we are to the world. We’re all extensions of Source. We are One Family, whether we like everyone or we don’t. We’re greater than our egos would suggest we are, and we cannot let the drama we’re witnessing here at home and around the world derail us from our goal of creating a world where human rights are not only respected but elevated.

Heaven on earth is possible and will ultimately happen in spite of us. Or, we could remember we belong to each other and create a world that cherishes that fact. 9/11 was a wake up call. Awaken, and embrace the blessings and peace that only Oneness can provide.