Not a habit

I don't make a habit of speaking of God, since I live my life pretty much on the edge of agnosticism. Still judging by a really strong thought I had today, I can't quite say that I deny the existence of a higher power. This morning, when I learned that Arafat was dead, I wrote the following:

The man was a fallen tree across the road to living peacefully. While I don't think that it's necessarily a road that's ever going to be finished, at least it's good that God freed up the lanes for the traffic to move where they could.

Personally, I don't think that Arafat's death changes anything that's going on.

• In the 70's, he was a dangerous terrorist who murdered innocent people.
• In the 80's, he was a leader recognized by the world, determined to hold out for the one thing he would never get.
• In the 90's, he became a figurehead, not actually influencing any of the actions of those around him - someone to mention if you were mentioning someone distasteful.
• In the 21st century, he faded into leadership obscurity. With no power to stop any terrorist activities even if he wanted to, there were no teeth left in his public image. Negotiating with him was a completely pointless exercise, as he could never actually deliver anything he promised.

This is my own opinion, so I don't have any sources to quote. I've based this on my observation of events over the past few years, only. So, take it as you will.