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I was recently going through my old blog posts when I stumbled across this little number that I wrote on May 11, 2002. I don't remember what exactly drove me to write this but a quick scan through the news tells me it's still relevant six and a half years later.
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Eight months ago tragedy struck a country that had deemed itself invulnerable to such things. In the course of but a few hours over six thousand lives were lost and the landscape of a city, indeed of a world, was radically changed. An entire nation fell into a time of collective shock and mourning and in the wake of the horror of September 11, 2001 a long overdue change occurred in the minds and hearts of American people. For one brief flicker in the torch of human history, we united. We were willing to overlook petty differences and we reached out to one another in search of companionship and healing. We glimpsed in New York displays of heroism and courage that can only be described as complete and total humanity and we reached down into ourselves to tap that true well of humanitarianism that the world had forced us to lock away.
Strong emotions invoke strong reactions in people. I know that the hours spent on the phone trying to contact my sister in New York were some of the most terrifying and desperate hours of my life. It was the initial response to these feelings that drew us together as a people, but it was the subsequent question as to what the United States would do in reply to the terrorism that tore us apart. Millions of Americans rallied around the flag and were determined to strike at the unseen monster that had attacked them and millions more saw their flag as but one of many and fought to preserve the rights of people half a world away who would never know their name.
Whether or not the decisions regarding the U.S. military were right or just, many of the effects of these decisions are crystal clear. Thousands lie dead in the Middle East, their names never to grace the backdrop of a U2 concert. Diplomatic tensions rise as nations answer President Bush's "With Us or Against Us" foreign policy. Perhaps most tragically, we have lost the connection that we built from mind to mind and heart to heart. In the days following the terrorist attacks, vigils were held across the country and around the world. We joined hands as human beings to hold back the hatred that gave birth to the horrific destruction. Somewhere along the line our outstretched palms became clenched fists. On both sides of the argument over U.S. military actions people grew intolerant of those who were different. Not physically or religiously, but philosophically. Those who believed differently and who spoke their feelings were ridiculed and shunned. Many times debate was reduced to mudslinging or bull headed shouting. It's time for some that haven't ceased speaking to merely listen and for those that have only been listening to voice their views. We need to recapture the unity that we had in that instant of sadness and despair. We need to come together not to destroy, but to build. Extreme right and left need to find their happy medium and raise their voices to create harmony in place of discord.
It has been said that those that died in the World Trade Center gave their lives defending the cause of liberty. I say that is nothing but a glorified "Remember the Alamo". Those that died in New York all those months ago died without knowing why. In the blink of an eye they had their lives and futures stolen from them. It is up to us, those left alive, to give their deaths meaning. We have been given not only the gift of life, but also the responsibility of living. We cannot squander our meager time on this earth delving into the human soul to find out how low we can sink. We must instead join together and see to what heights we can achieve.
It is the truth that all people are different. It is the truth that not everyone will like everyone else. It is also the truth, however, that we can all coexist if we accept the faults of others and are willing to change our own. We have to be willing to give a little because the potential gain is immeasurable. We are human. None of us are perfect. All of us are fallible, but we are together in that fallibility. We are of one race; one people. On the day that we realize this we will look around and realize that we are great, we are strong and there is nothing that we cannot accomplish together.
