Today there was a Holy Ground prayer vigil for a homicide victim. He was a 25 year old male that was described as a loving father of his children. The circumstance of his death, like most of these cases, is not clear. These killings seem senseless.

His mother-in-law kept saying what would his children going to do without their loving father. A person, who I believe was his mother, broke down during the prayer service and had to be moved aside to be consoled. After the service both women, grandmas to the man’s children, expressed anger about this senseless killing. Afterwards I just sat on the steps and stared at the pole that had been decorated to celebrate this young man. The tree was full of life and remembrances yet marked the spot of his death.

Finally today I got time and weather to work in my gardens. Most of the work was around my new fence, planting grass on my neighbor’s side and preparing on my side the ground with liner and stones for planters that will grow all kinds of good green food. My side of the fence will not be as colorful as the tree at the side of the shooting but it will celebrate life not death.

At our Breaking the Silence gathering tonight we talked about some dramatic actions to make people aware of the American death machines, drones, unmanned planes that kill people, often innocent persons in Afghanistan and Pakistan. We talked about putting a face on this senseless killing by drones.

After the meeting I received an article from Kathy Kelly of Voices for Creative Nonviolence about drones. It is called “The Predators: Where is Your Democracy?”. The title of the article is based on a question a journalist in Pakistan, after describing the horrific site of a drone attack, asked her “if average Americans know that their country is attacking Pakistan with drones that carry bombs. Truthfully,” she said, “I don’t think so.”

“Where is your democracy?” he asked me. “Where is your democracy?” Ideally, in a democracy, people are educated about important matters, and they can influence decisions about these issues by voting for people who represent their point of view.

Most Americans are not aware of the senseless killing, gun violence, that goes on each day in our central cities. Most Americans are not aware of the senseless killing, drone attacks that go on, in our name, in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

When will we feel these senseless killings, by gun or drone, and demand they stop.

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