On Saturday morning, January 8, 2010 a young man named Jared Lee Loughner became a murderer.  He took a gun and a spare magazine of cartridges to a "Congress on your corner event" for Representative Gabrielle Giffords D-Arizona.  He was unsuccessful in killing the congresswoman, but he managed to kill six others and wound fourteen innocent bystanders.  He had a copy of the Communist Manifesto and Mein Kampf in his room at his parent's home.  He had a shrine in a tent behind his home that had something like an altar with a skull on it. Sounds eerily familiar doesn't it?

Sunday's headline shouted, "Lawmaker shot, 6 Slain in Arizona".  Monday's headline shouted, "Suspect planned attack on lawmaker". I'm sure tomorrow's headline will have a similar ring to it.  On the television this morning I noted that our President "led" the nation in a moment of silence for those who lost loved ones, those who were slain and those who were injured.  Of course there was no real silence, just the constant noise of the cameras taking endless pictures of the leader of the free world and his wife trying to show respect... but not really given respect by the insensitive media.

A gentle snow started falling on Sunday afternoon.  It kept increasing in intensity all afternoon until it had become 5 or 6 inches deep by midnight and then it stopped.  Everything around here is shut down for the day because that's what we do when it snows in Arkansas. We don't get enough of the stuff to be annoyed by it.  We just take a day off and enjoy it.  It's a beautiful day... white... silent... Today snow is still falling.  It makes no sound as it hits the ground. When I look out the window I am reminded of what real silence is and why it is necessary.

I think silence is important in the scheme of man.  We must have silence for our minds to be able to process the information that is constantly bombarding us.  Silence allows for uninterrupted thought which helps us deal with the things we, as flawed humans, do to ourselves... like shooting our leaders... like clicking our cameras when we ought to be observing a moment of silence.

A friend's father passed away Saturday.  I went to see him and the family.  We spoke little... mostly were just silent... as we let the silence wash our memories into proper places. Most likely what happened in Arizona will mean very little to my friend.  He has his own tragedy to work through.

That's the reality of such distasteful events.  They are often called "defining moments"... and for some that's what they are... but in the silence of a snowy winter's day definition is more personal than that. Our national identity is not defined by an insane murderer's rampage, but rather by how the folk's representing us responded when called upon in a time of crisis.

Bad things happen.  Good people rise to the occasion... or they don't.  That is what defines us a nation... you do... I do... our neighbors do... but only as one person, one event at a time... who when given opportunity rise to the task and remind us of what an American is... not defined by anything external or anything political but by how willing that one human is to give all in order to elevate all.

The news is never all bad... it just seems that way sometimes. 

The snow is still falling. I'm listening... but I can't hear a thing... except the fire crackling occasionally.

Peace to you today.

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