Lest We Forget

Last weekend, we were chilling out in our new living room with our pal Gabe, a smart "kid" of almost 23 years who was wondering out loud when the "defining moment" of his generation/lifetime would be. You know: Vietnam, the Great Depression, etc. It occured to me, and to Mike, my big-brained husband, that we are actually in that moment now, in this "war on terror, " or "struggle against Islamist extremism," or whatever the hell it is called now.

As we chatted, my dear husband announced that not a day goes by when he doesn't think about what it must be like for our troops in Iraq - to experience the kind of fear and horror and confusion that they must be experiencing. Well, I must confess that some days I do let it slip my mind, but not today, not when I see stories like this.

It seems right now as if there is no end to the ways which human beings can find to kill one another. And as if there is no end to the hatred.