Sirens blare..1…2…3 times. “Dangerous flying object. Stay safe. Go indoors.” They don’t land here. They are targeted for the other side. It is always the other side. From the left of us to the right of us and then back to the left. We are safe sitting in the middle. Yet we can feel innocent smiles disappear on either side of us as a rumbling boom of an extra maniac firecracker hits its mark. Again and again like shooting stars they fly over our heads. Bright objects streak through the night sky. They pass over a wedding to our right. In response, others pass over a youth conference on our left. Cheers from all around break out. “Death! Death!” Their unified wish is declared. But how do those stars know which wish to fulfill? In the past, these wishing stars had been camels. A species that knew how to hold a grudge. Treat a camel wrong…Beware! They were survivors, princes, and rulers. This beast of burden generously gave people status and power. It didn’t matter if food was non-existent, as long as there were ten camels outside chomping on the thorny bushes they knew their owners had power. Every country has had their camels. In the days of Lawrence of Arabia it was horses. In the western world it was cars and exploration. In East Asia it was sons and a family name. But we have moved on from our nomadic behaviors. Now it is weapons. Nuclear bombs. Things that can destroy every smile from the face of the earth. It’s okay if there is no food in the country. It doesn’t matter that women and children have no place to sleep. Our cheers tell us that we believe those bombs will keep us safe; safe on the top of the totem pole. Bombs that hold grudges yet can’t tell a sinister smile from an innocent one. Bombs that once explode will never forgive. Is this really what we want?