Not a Good Idea -- Suing the Saudi Government

Dear family and friends of those who perished on September 11, 2001:

That was a terrible, terrible day.  I grieved for the loss of lives, of a sense of security, of peace.    Along with everyone else in this country, and even around the world, my heart was broken.  

The problem is, I see the senseless loss of life every day.   It’s all over broadcast and print news, and in social media.  Even before social media, and well before 11 September 2001, that kind of grief was real to me.    Many times, those left to bury their loved ones, most times killed by the hands of their own countrymen, citizens of the United States of America, had no recourse.  You know the ways people get killed here without justification or provocation; that litany need not be set out here.   So, while there was a terrible, terrible morning of violence in our country and thousands were lost, and it is normal to seek to hold someone accountable, I cannot help but think that to seek redress from another country’s government is not good for our fellow countrymen who may be in other countries right now, nor for the rest of us.   Is it right and fitting to risk their possible freedom, or possibly even their lives?  Or our national security?  

And to Congress:  of all the issues on which to unite, could you not have focused on something that is more pressing and affects the entire country?  Or would you rather have it shut down again, and in the process cause more Americans distress – financial and otherwise? 

I grieve for the thousands who perished on September 11, 2001

I grieve for all who have been abused by police officers who were/are psychologically and/or emotionally unfit for duty.

I grieve for four young lives lost at 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, and the lives of all others who were maimed, crippled and killed to secure rights they did not have, for themselves and for those who came after, like me.

I grieve because all lives should matter the same, regardless of how those lives ended.  The sad commentary is that they do not.