America!

      When my mother was in her 70's she shared that she could not imagine what I would see in my lifetime.  She'd seen it all, she thought, from horses and buggies to cars, from trains to airplanes, from outdoor to indoor plumbing, from gas lighting to electricity.  She had lived through two World Wars and gone from listening to radio to watching television, first in black and white, and then in color.  She died before the internet came into the world, and the smart phone, and so much other technology.  She saw women earn the right to vote, and the early days of the Civil Rights movement.  Over the course of her lifetime.  I wondered right along with her when she said that, and I've wondered since, what could I possibly see that would be so impactful to the world over time.  And there has been much.  But the events of the past two weeks have made me understand what whiplash is. From the lows to the highs.  In America, there is hope.
      First, another mass murder.  By a white man in a church, where he was welcomed to worship by the black congregation.   For their hospitality, he ended their lives in the name of white supremacy.  This opened conversations regarding two American problems (not issues, from my point of view), racism, and gun control.  While most of humanity was incredulous at another senseless shooting, some people ignored the content and the context of the event.  President Obama in a remarkable eulogy for the murdered pastor, indicated that we, as a nation, cannot go back to a comfortable silence regarding racism.  Nor, I submit, can we go back to an uncomfortable silence.  In the case of racism and gun control,  most especially, silence is not golden.  
    And then the Supreme Court had its day(s) in court.  First, asserting the second superior court challenge of the Affordable Care Act was dismissed.  And secondly, ah, secondly, and this my mother, I doubt,  would have never foreseen, the Supreme Court declared the institution of marriage would be legal between same sex couples as well as opposite sex couples.  Who we love, is who we love, and marriage commits us to that person. Common sense, and now, the law of the land.
    I still ponder what I'll see in my lifetime.  My hope is more common sense prevails.  America!