nature lies

9/11/2001 was a perfect day.  Perfect temperature, perfect skies.  The sun shone warmly on my face as I walked from my apartment in Arlington to the local hospital to see if I could donate some blood to help the victims at the Pentagon just a few miles away from my home where a plane had crashed into the building.  The juxtaposition of the weather and the terrorism was extreme, striking.  How could there be such a beautiful set to a horrific disaster?  It was jarring.

I feel that same disorientation now, too.  While winter's bleak slumber has given way to an explosion of blossoms, American society crumbles more each day.  Nature is taunting us.  Spring should bring renewal and hope to the soul; instead, there is a confusing backdrop of brilliant, flashy colors accompanying the determined destruction of the federal government.  The thrill of growth is offset by the demolition--not slow decay--of our proud institutions.