"Now for something you'll really like!"

Ahh, the immortal words of Rocky the Flying Squirrel, uttered frequently just before going to a commercial break. His pal Bullwinkle, always at his side (or maybe it was the other way around?), stumbling around like Inspector Clouseau as they fought the evil duo of Boris and Natasha (who resembled in every way what must have been the common conception of your average Soviet spy).  It was so much more civil when we could easily tell the difference between us -- the good guys -- and them --the bad guys. 

Before going on, and in the interest of fair disclosure, I must tell you that my absolute favorite cartoon character, bar none, is Bugs Bunny.  His brilliance is often overshadowed by his larger-than-life ears and his enormous buck-toothed grin.  Peel away the cool, wisecracking, sarcastic exterior and what is left is...a devious and sarcastic wiseguy who always manages to get the upper hand.  In other words, what you see is what you get.  Here again, there is no obscure agenda or false front.  We know the good from the evil (even if Bugs runs perilously close to that line on occasion).

Unfortunately, reality does not share the simple concepts that cartoons and printed comics once depicted.  Life today is all about nuance and the countless shades of grey (cheap reference, I know, but irresistible nonetheless).  Today the enemy dresses like us, talks like us and sometimes lives among us in our suburban Shangri-las.  We teach our children hyper-vigilance, understandably so, just in case that family down the street is ill intentioned. We take a second or even third look at the darker skinned man wearing clothing that seems unconventional to us.  We know we shouldn't suspect everyone of being a plotter, but it's become almost second-nature to us given our history of being subjected to both domestic and foreign terrorist attacks.

I fear we are in danger of robbing our children and ourselves of any sense of peace and serenity.  How can we be at peace when we worry every time we ride the subway or fly in a commercial airliner?  What kind of joy or serenity can we provide our children without ignoring the dangerous aberrations of our society?  No, seriously, I'm asking because I don't have an answer that works for everyone.  I can only share what grounds me and takes away my sense of infinite insecurity: faith.  Faith in a higher power; faith in the inherent goodness of most people; faith in a divine promise I cannot see or touch. Keep Calm--Grow Faith.

Now that is definitely something you'll really like.