| Hi everyone, I'm a little raw, are you? Perhaps my brain can't grasp the mood change: I went from literally crying with laughter at Princess Beatrice's outrageous pink hat from Friday's Royal Wedding -- Cthulu! -- to President Obama's announcement Sunday that Osama Bin Laden is dead. And there I am stuck. Like so many other BlogHers I've read this week, I balance on the twin axes of hope and fear - hope that the war can end and the troops can come home, fear that bin Laden's death will accelerate it. Hope that my friends who are Muslim Americans will be treated with less suspicion here -- in their own country -- fear that another incident will exacerbate all kinds of tensions. Hope that my children can grasp this historical moment, even though they were just babies for 9/11, fear that their post-9/11 worldview cannot help but be defined by that attack. Here's who I'm reading: Open Thread: Osama Bin Laden Is Dead by Elisa Camahort Page (who was in NYC on 9/11) "I was in NYC on business on 9/11. And stranded there for days. And I smelled the air. And I sat in a bar with a bunch of guys who had been working down there and just listened to them. I've never been so happy that someone is dead. And there, I said it." Bloggers React to Osama Bin Laden's Death by Jill Miller Zimon, who quotes this black sista's page: "I'm glad that Bin Laden is dead; however, I'm still uncomfortable. The reasons why some Muslims have trodden the path of extreme religiosity and extreme nationalism and violence still remains unaddressed. And until that happens, we may find that there will be no end to Bin Ladens." Muslim Reflections on Bin Laden's Death Faiqa Khan of NativeBorn, quoted by Editor Heather Clisby: "I thought about all the moments that led up to Osama bin Laden's total and unrelenting commitment to his world view....I thought of the demon who whispered in his heart under the guise of the Almighty and told him that the costs associated with victory of his world view were necessary, and that they had to be done..." On Realizing I Was Impacted By Terrorism by Nancy Hill, who quotes Julia Ward Howe -- yes, the Battle Hymn of the Republic author -- only this time, invokes How's Mother's Day Proclamation for Peace, and asks: "I need a week, I'm giving myself until Mother's Day, to contemplate the past ten years and the next ten years. What are you doing differently this week?" Thanks for that thought Nancy ... I'm still thinking. | 
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