Amen, brother

From columnist Howard Bell:

I sat on the patio last summer as the last heat of the day disappeared in the west. As I relaxed in my chair, I thought about the song that John Lennon never wrote. I was not a big fan of The Beatles or the British invasion. I was a loyal big band fan. But the touch of John Lennon’s music carried me over the ages into harmony with the generations. Here he was, such a good representative of love and peace and he was gunned down with no cause.

That’s what happened in Tucson, Arizona. I do not despise or hate the young man who gunned down all those people; I only feel sorry for him and his parents. The little 9-year-old girl who was killed might have been the first female president of the United States. She may have been the world’s greatest dancer, or the best teacher in a grade school. But she’ll be none of those. I don’t know what went through this man’s mind and I suppose we’ll never really know. He attacked a congresswoman, a part of our U.S. government. It was as though he shot a star in the flag.