My brain is still reeling over the death of bin Laden, still caught in a very strong mix of feelings, all much much more somber than jubilant. Robert Klitzman, the brother of a victim of the 9/11 attacks, writes an op-ed piece, “My Sister, My Grief,” in today’s New York Times that encapsulates some of these mixed feelings–a kind of relief that the U.S. has finally accomplished its specific mission, a re-awakened grief for the specific deaths and losses of 9/11 as well as for the decade of deaths and war, a worry about reaction chains of violence (both past ones, such as the war in Iraq, and future ones) and, underneath all of that, concern about the hatred and history and misunderstanding, manipulation, greed, prejudice, and genuine disagreements, that continue to divide and menace the world and that are a lot more powerful than a single man.
I’ve been thinking a lot too about the specifics of Obama’s mission. Even as a pacifist, a long-term vegetarian, someone who just abhors the idea of killing, I realize that any capture of bin Laden, attempted trial, would have been a nightmare, likely leading to hostage taking around the world.
All these concerns make me very glad not to be involved in politics, not to be one of the people making these types of decisions. Last night just thinking about it, I wanted to get back to something simple, down to earth.
What I came up with was bread. Rolls just out of the oven, still on a rather corroded baking sheet. That’s what those lumps up there are supposed to be.
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