What a Week.


What a week.

Marathon bombing, ricin in the mail, Senate vote on background checks, fertilizer plant explosion, and the shoot-out manhunt in Watertown.  If there was ever a week for Kim Jong Un to step away from the brink quietly this would have been the one.  At least, the ridiculous antics and the media created frenzy of the Jodi Arias trial was put on the back burner.  I cannot remember a single week producing such strong and wide ranging emotions; shock, horror, rage, sadness, disappointment, and ultimately satisfaction.  We will continue to mourn the deceased, ask why, wonder how, question who was responsible, say our thanks, pray for the injured, call loved ones, offer a shoulder, pledge support, applaud the brave, assign blame, and hope for the best and plan for the worst.  No wonder so many people felt physically and emotionally drained.

In times of crisis, nobody circles the wagons like Americans.  Whether it’s a terrorist attack, a natural disaster, or tragic event we tend to set aside petty differences and put things in perspective.  Of course there will always be exceptions because some people cannot see the big picture as dirty politics, bigotry, and ignorance can never be extinguished.  And like the post 9/11 patriotism, the shock of Tucson, the horror of Aurora, the grief of Newtown, and countless other events, our unity will fade.  Pettiness will resume, the politics of it all will begin to take shape, and our calls for action will fall on deaf ears.  But today, at least for one day, we can be one.

I planned to write about impacts to gun legislation, immigration reform, social media, and the Constitution, but I decided to wait.  My notes and analysis are not going away and I will address those topics in time.  But not now.  Instead my thoughts are still with Martin Richard, Krystle Campbell, Lingzi Lu, Sean Collier, Jeff Bauman, Morris Bridges, Perry Calvin, Jerry Chapman, Cody Dragoo, Kenny Harris, Jimmy Matus, Joey Pustejovsky, Cyrus Reed, Robert Snokhous, Doug Snokhous, and Buck Optmor, .

I have questions and opinions and I will share them soon enough.  But for now I don’t want to ruin seeing Yankee fans singing Sweet Caroline, watching our President consoling victims, and marveling at Americans set aside differences to help one another.  The aftermath of the worst events brings out the best in many of us.  Wouldn’t it be great if it never faded?

The good times never seemed so good.

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