So Where Were You?

The world has had a couple very big events happen over the past week. I'm of course talking about the Wedding of The (now) Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (Prince William and Catherine Middleton in case you're not a Monarchist like myself or simply don't care) and the death of Osama Bin Laden.

Which event was bigger? Well that depends on who you talk to. For me it was the wedding. I happened to get back to Adelaide from my 2 days on Kangaroo Island just in time to see the happy couple leave the Church....I then spent the rest of the night watching the replays. I also woke Mom and Dad up at around 0430 Vernon time to see if they were anxiously watching (as I was) for the balcony kiss. Like millions around the world, on TVs and computers, on phones or in person, I watched and I smiled and I celebrated. It was great moment to share with so many people, even while sitting alone in a hotel room. For a short moment I was able to (along with a whole lot of others) forget about all the terrible and stressful things happening in the world and share in a joyous moment.

I learnt of the death of Osama Bin Laden while on my wine tour in the Barossa Valley. Like a few other deaths (Michael Jackson and Elizabeth Taylor) I first learnt about in on Facebook. I certainly felt shock at first. Always a surprise when someone we have been taught to see as enemy number 1 becomes mortal. Later that day I saw and heard the stories of the celebrations in the streets of The United States and I felt......unsettled. Those celebrations appeared strangely similar to others I have seen on the news.....but in this case no one was lighting those American flags on fire.

Now why do I feel the wedding is the bigger event? I guess because I feel the Wedding brought people together in a positive way, while the death of Bin Laden actually drove people apart.....at least in my life. Not everyone was a fan of the wedding and no one says they have to be. But for those of us who did, I don't feel we were made to feel shame for it. For days in seems like we have been talking about the dress and the hats and everything wedding. It's fun and exciting and I love it.

And I think we can all agree that not everyone celebrated in the streets after the news of Bin Laden's death however I know more than a few of us were made to feel that we were wrong to say so. I actually ended a friendship because of the hate, anger and personal attacks that were thrown my way because I chose not to celebrate, while at the same time understanding why some people did.

I don't feel either side (those who celebrate and those who don't) are wrong but there has to be an understanding and respect for all. I mean isn't that why we are all so grateful for the opportunity to grow up in the part of the world we live in? Isn't that the whole point.....the ability to have an opinion even if it is different than someone else. I mean a world where we all have to think and act the same way.......I kind of thought that was the world we were fighting against. I kind of thought that was the reason we have sent our friends and family into harm's way in the first place.

Of course we all have our opinions and I'm not posting this to stir up discussion. I'm just bringing attention to the fact that 10 years from now we will all remember this week in history differently and I think that's a great thing.

Julie