Just got back from a "Moment of silence/remebrance" across the river in Pioneer Court. It was.... weird. Unsatisfying. Part of it may be that I was educated by Quakers, and therefore I know from moments of silence. I know what meaningful contemplation feels like. It does not feel like a crowd chanting "USA! USA!" Very odd. And creepy. We don't even give ourselves time to mourn before we start getting all triumphal again. What purpose does that serve? Take this time to reevaluate everything -- things we've done wrong, things we've done right, things we wish we could do -- before blindly jumping into "USA rules! Let's kick some ass!" mode.

Note: I do not, in any way, shape or form, mean to say that we as a nation deserved this. NO ONE deserves this kind of devastation. NO ONE deserved to die like that. It's sickening and beyond comprehension. However, I don't think we should jump to defensive "USA! Love it or leave it!" mode. That's the whole point of the country -- we don't have to walk in lockstep, we don't have to believe what everyone else believes.

I don't know if I'm making any sense.