POSTNOTE: April 6, 2026: Sometime today, apparently, we’ll be told what is planned for the people of Iran.  I am deliberately writing this before I know the substance of whatever announcement will be made.

Largely because of a 2003 e-mail that I came across Saturday, my thoughts go back to September 11, 2001, when somebody evil set out to decapitate the United States of America.  Anyone born on or after 9-11 has seen the results, including a 20 year war not so fondly remembered.  We became our own worst enemy, in my opinion, and it is playing out again in 2026.  It is one thing to decapitate an enemy; it is another thing entirely to truly declare Mission Accomplished, as an earlier President declared on May 1, 2003, aboard an aircraft carrier.

Here is the June 16 and 30, 2003 e-mail referred to above: SAK June 16, 2003.  SAK is a long time friend in England.  At the end of this post is a photo from the same file, of a large peace sign posted on the grounds of Basilica of St. Mary shortly after the Iraq War began in March, 2003.

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Today [April 5] is Easter and among the trove of farm postcards from the early 1900s, this one seems most apropos for today – person to person.  (There were over 300 cards in this collection.   About one-third related to Christmas; one-sixth, over 50, to Easter and Springtime; the rest an assortment.  They were greetings one to another, a small minority religious related.  Most of the originals are in the Busch-Berning collection at ND Historical Society.  The rest were distributed to family members after our Uncle Vince Died in 2015.  I did the jpg’s  years ago.)

Among Easters I have known, this one is the least hopeful.  We seem to be careening into a pit of our own making.

Still, there is reason for seeking good within our own individual sphere, including within ourself as well.  Robert Reich this morning spoke richly about this very thing.

My tradition happens to be Catholic, and three times in this past week I was in church.  Palm Sunday (March 29) was in a packed church in Hermann MO.

Twice I was at Basilica of St. Mary: Friday night Good Friday) was the annual Tenebrae service, whose speaker this year was the Rabbi from nearby Temple Israel.  Rabbi Zimmerman gave an inspiring talk from the Catholic Pulpit.  The local Archbishop was in the pews with the rest of us. The Church was packed.

Similarly this morning Basilica was full for Easter Mass.

Everyone knows of the ‘storm clouds’ facing all of us, outside, and while unspoken I get the sense that there is increasingly intense individual reflection about where each person, as an individual, fits into attempting to find a positive resolution.

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COMMENTS: 

from Steve: Thanks for your thoughts. This president is not only a historic embarrassment, but also a criminal, convicted of felonious business practices and bribery, and responsible for murders of US citizens on the streets of American cities, as well as for thousands of individuals sent to war or caught in its violence. Just a terrible tragedy.

from Mary Ellen: I also support Peace through communication. The Pope’s Easter Sunday message was a great example for our wayward government to follow.

from SAK: One can only hope Trump will take the Pope’s advice!

“I’m told that President Trump has recently ​stated that he would like to end the ​war,” said Leo, the first Pope from the United ⁠States.

“Hopefully he’s looking for an off-ramp,” the Pope told ​journalists outside his residence in Castel Gandolfo, near Rome. “Hopefully ​he’s looking for a way to decrease the amount of violence.”

from Jay: Yes, no WAR, period! – The Easter card is beautiful!