In the Garden of Good and Evil

Having visited Savannah last weekend, I was fascinated by the history, the garden squares and by the story of "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil". Reading the book has been on my list but is one of the things I have put off for too long.

In literature and religion and music and movies and, for sure in real life, the struggle between good and evil is always the major theme. The struggle can be each person's individual struggle or the human struggle as a whole. Sometimes the individual and the human dilemnas collide to make an even bigger struggle.

As I have watched news of Osama bin Laden's demise the truth of the struggle between good and evil couldn't have been more apparent. Or the truth of how difficult the choices can be. I am proud of the leaders that we know, and the individuals that we will probably never know, who did struggle with good and evil and then made a difficult choice.

I cannot imagine the turmoil that must have existed in the minds of our leaders and, in the minds of the brave souls who carried out the dangerous mission. I am grateful and proud of the way it appears they carefully strategized and executed the plan in order to achieve their goal but avoid the deaths of civilians in Pakistan.

No doubt the struggle in everyday people's lives and in the human condition will continue all over the world.

There have been many times throughout history when people like bin Laden have risen to lead and there is no reason to believe there won't be more.

But there are many other leaders who I hope will get more attention than bin Laden. We don't need to give the bin Ladens in our garden more attention than the leaders who lead, not with fear and hate and blame, but with love and understanding. And who lead with a willingness to work together for a better world.

Bin Laden blamed Americans, Hitler blamed Jews, and, like Sly and the Family Stone sang "and so on and so on and scooby dooby dooby."

We are everyday people. All over the world. Like the young folk's movement that's being called Arab Spring who are working for a peaceful transition to a modern Middle East.

As Dad always says "the world would be a better place if more people focused on the power of Love than on the love of power."

In Savannah, we noticed a large sign with a quote from John F. Kennedy. The sign was asking for people to get involved in Savannah's future using Kennedy's words, "Our task is not to fix the blame, but to fix the course of the future."

We do what we have to do with the weeds in our garden but our main task is to cultivate all that is good.

Like Sly sings, "We've got to live together."