Osama Bin Laden is dead - now what?

Osama Bin Laden is dead - now what? A call to cut military spending.

Yesterday Osama Bin Laden was killed.  A day that many American's looked forward to.
Part of a  pain, a hate, a rage, a chase that has been going on for over a decade, is over.
Yet it feels anti-climactic.   It feels that as a nation we have been in this "place" for so long, that
this one death isn't enough to pull us out of it.   What we need to kill is the hate & pursuit
of a justice that may not be able to be found.  Sometimes there is not a happy ending; just a
(reluctant) ability to move on, & slowly past the pain of the past.  No one will forget 9/11,
but no one can bring back the thousands of lives lost - both physically & emotionally.

Its a shame that Bush did'nt do this on his watch.  At least he could have said he accomplished
something worthwhile in office.  But instead, 3 years after he has left office & Obama's poll is diminished
what happens next?    What can we learn from THIS war, or the other wars we are involved in at present?

In my eyes nothing we do to avenge the war can fix or change the past. 
Can it bring back the thousands & thousands of lives that have been lost; both civilian & in service?
Can it help the millions of people that are hurting now; out of work & losing their homes, & lives in a bad economy?     Can it bring back the billions & billions of dollars we have invested on military spending; to the point that we have slashed all other budgets in the this financial web of a deficit that America is in?
We have lost accountability for ourselves because we are so busy being accountable to the world,
and our image.  

I think its time our image changed & we work in-ward.  By no means do I mean to turn our back on the world, but its time we change the fight.  We should be fighting hunger, disease, poverty, & homelessness
here in the US - not wars.   People right here are desperate in every state & city.  You can throw a rock in any direction and hit a house in jeopardy of foreclosure.  We have cut school budgets to the point
of depelting our future (children) of the riches of the arts, music, foreign language, & simple things like physical education.    You wonder why most kids can't run a mile, hold a conversation, or know anything about culture, its becuase they are not getting these expereinces in schools anymore, and the TV & the I-pod are raising them at home & on the street., while parents work 2 + jobs to stay afloat.

Maybe we can take the billions of dollars invested in the military now & slash that to distribute to
healthcare,  safe childcare, poverty,  non-profit agencies that are bursting at the seams with need,  schools and educations that will make a difference.  Not testing with FCATS till were spent physically & emotionally, but measuring children on thier academic, social, & artistic skills, & then nurturing those skills.
How about making it mandatory for citizens  (un-employment colletors,those on welfare,  those on exceedingly long workmen's comp cases, & those on perpetual disability) to show up at schools, non-profits, and community centers & donate a minimum of 3-5 hours a week of thier time.   Everyone can do something, no matter how disabled you are.   If you have a voice, a hand, and even the smallest heart you can make a difference.  Wether its reading to children in aftercare, cleaning a bathroom,  filing work, or being the voice on the other end of the phone for a desperate caller.   In these times, everyone should give back.

JFK so elquently said "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country."
I think its time our president bring that call into action, & make everyone start with thier own community.
Make it mandatory for anyone over the age of 15 to put time in to thier city.  Thus cutting the desperate need for manpower to at least half the government & social service agencies.   Then lets start using that money
that we cut from the military (since Bin Laden is dead that should losen up at least some funds) to help US citizens get back on thier feet.   Work- Build- Support-  Help- Eachother.

I hope Obama can leave a legacy of more than this.   There was a lot to clean up before he got into office,
and I think he has been given the short end of the stick in many ways.  I think both parties should have come together better than they have, because its about "the people" now, not the politics & policies.  Its been an embarrassing & frustrating time watching the lack of movement & change because parties won't cooperate with each other to get things done.   Would any of those politicians like to go into a local emergecny room & explain that mom will now have to work 2 jobs, because her kid has strept throat & no insurance to pay for it.

But that is out of my hands.  I am just a ant in the mound, looking for the next picnic.  I try to carry my wieght whenever possible, but I am not sure its enough.    But now that Bin Laden is dead, can we concentrate on another picnic & put our money back into us/US?