So, I sat down among all the tubes and wires attached to my tiny son, as the nurse placed his fragile being in my arms. The switch was turned off and the earth stood still. Suddenly a flood of such unimaginable sorrow and love as I have never ever felt before or since poured through my hardened heart -- I thought it would break me in two. And it did, I left that hospital a shattered man that night, and it was the best thing that had ever happened to me. My broken heart was so wide open and fragile that I began to realize a compassion for others that I had never ever felt before. All the suffering of everyone found a channel through my open heart. I had never experienced such love for humanity and for the fragility and humility of my human condition -- our human condition.
America, this tragedy can do this for us all, if we can pass through the stage of hate/rage. It can sensitize us, causing us to rethink some facts that may have seemed unimportant to us before. Sometimes our foreign policy can seem so "over there" that it doesn't seem that important. Often those issues are relegated to back pages of the paper, while domestic issues like "lotto winners" and "school bonds" take the front pages. We can lose touch with the far-reaching ramifications of US policy elsewhere. Such as the fact that the United States is the largest exporter of weapons in the entire world, and one of the only countries standing against the abolition of land mines, as well as now unilaterally violating the anti-ballistic missile treaty. This means that the odds are that when a bomb lands on people in the world, or a landmine blows off a child's arm -- it was made in the United States. Today we will be conducting massive investigations to find out where the weapons were made that enabled the hijackings to occur, and we will hold that source responsible. Other humans are no different.
Environmentally and economically, we Americans are only 5% of the world's population, yet we consume 25% of the earth's resources, with government programs subsidizing our fuel -- thereby enabling American's to be quite thoughtless and wasteful as we are the only industrial nation on earth increasing our carbon dioxide (greenhouse gas) output. When the global temperature continues to rise, and the world experiences higher costs for fuel, fuel shortages, and less resources because Americans are wastefully and thoughtlessly creating larger and larger fuel guzzling vehicles, and our government stands as the only government that refuses to sign the Kyoto Treaty to reduce fossil fuel consumption, the world sees the United States in a different light than we may have seen ourselves. Because the "lotto winners" are on the front pages, these thoughts are buried.
When the earth's resources are increasingly plundered to satisfy the endless desire for consumer products in the U.S., those who are left with little or nothing because of a global multi-national corporate economy suffer. Remember that this global corporate economy is designed by the lawyers of those who the majority of poverty stricken world citizens will never meet or know, yet suffer everyday from their decisions and legal briefs.
The rage we feel today at our suffering and the suffering of our countrymen/women/children, and the fact that we do not know quite where to place the anger-- but only knowing that we rage against the injustice of it all -- is felt by people worldwide when a bomb or landmine takes the lives of their neighbors, their children, or when a world economy run by people beyond their control or awareness leaves their families scrapping and starving through no fault of their own.
You see, our own tragedy can now enable us to "feel" what desolate rage at a force we don't even really know or understand feels like. It can awaken us to be more cognizant of what our nation's policies are so that we do not allow our nation's policies to add to this suffering -- as human children we do not want to add to suffering anymore, the world has enough of it without contributing to it in anyway.
To make our government's policies healing, we must become vigilant to them, and be educated of their effects. As citizens of the world's most powerful nation, we have responsibilities. Consider this, if we attack a nation where the terrorists were supported, the innocent human "collateral damage" of our attack will be people who very likely only committed the crime of "not caring," being "ignorant of," or feeling "powerless to change" what their government was doing.
The world is at a crossroads. We can use this horrible event as a catalyst to see ourselves in the fragility and suffering of others worldwide, to steer our world down the road of compassion, creating a world we can ALL love living in. Or, we can use it as a reason to build yet more weapons, to militarize our nation and world more, and to callous our hearts and deafen our ears to the suffering of others worldwide. I found my life when I allowed tragedy to break my heart, rather than thicken it. I honor my son by opening my heart endlessly.
I pray America will find the miracle in this tragedy, and thereby honor those who have passed.
By William E. Douglas, Jr., who is author of "The Amateur Parent � A Book on Life, Death, War & Peace, and Everything Else in the Universe." Bill has been a guest columnist for the Kansas City Star, The Business Journal, and other media worldwide. His past essays include, "Exposing the 9/11 Conspiracy Wingnuts," "The Explosion of the 9-11 Truth Movement -- US Media's Dirty Little Secret," "Good Night, and Good Luck - WMD, NIST, Popular Mechanics, 9/11 and Media Crimes," "Living in the Land of Oz," and also "Why the Jewish Community Should Demand 9/11 Truth."
You may contact Mr. Douglas at findtruth40@hotmail.com Reprint permission for this article is granted. You may publish it anywhere and everywhere.
By William E. Douglas, Jr., who is author of "The Amateur Parent – A Book on Life, Death, War & Peace, and Everything Else in the Universe." Bill has been a guest columnist for the Kansas City Star, The Business Journal, and other media worldwide. His past essays include, "Exposing the 9/11 Conspiracy Wingnuts," "The Explosion of the 9-11 Truth Movement -- US Media's Dirty Little Secret," "Good Night, and Good Luck - WMD, NIST, Popular Mechanics, 9/11 and Media Crimes" and also "Why the Jewish Community Should Demand 9/11 Truth."
I cried when I read your words--those you wrote just after 9/11 and those written about the Amish. When I saw in the news that the parents of the dead children had reached out to the widow of the man who'd caused the tragedy, I was touched by their compassion and courage. Certainly, if Americans had reacted like this after 9/11, instead of allowing George Bush to whip up nationalism, instead of allowing this reprehensible exploitation, we would be a stronger nation today. My nephew would be alive. So would all the troops who have died in this senseless war. So would who knows how many Iraqis who had nothing to do with 9/11 and who knows how many Afghans who had nothing to do with 9/11.
Thanks for writing about your personal grief. Thanks for an article that truly inspires. Missy
by
Missy Comley Beattie (163 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 47 comments)
on Friday, October 6, 2006 at 8:22:59 AM
I just wanted to let you know that the article you wrote on 9/11 and tied it to the Amish horror is wonderful. I cannot help but think if the money that has been wasted in Iraq because of hatred. It would be such a different world--
Thanks again--
Sandy Wittliff
by
Sandy Wittliff (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 7 comments)
on Friday, October 6, 2006 at 10:26:59 AM
I shook my fist at God and turned my back on Him for many years after the loss of my brother and sister. I lost my mind and then got it back and when I reemerged from the shadow of death I came back healed .It took time and I know as a nation we can do it too. We are collectively realizing the basic inhumanity of violent death and that revenge is not sweet. Now we need to look to the truths we always held to be self evident. We are all equal and responsible for our fellow man. We must now convince our political demagogues of these truths and start at the ballot box.
by
cluelessfl (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 184 comments)
on Friday, October 6, 2006 at 12:02:24 PM
I found it hard to read your essay for the tears that kept welling up in my eyes. I can only imagine the depth of your suffering at the loss of a child. The only point of reference I can use is the depth of my sorrow at losing a good friend who died more or less right before my eyes in the wake of a fire in our apartment. It took years for my heart to heal, for the pain to lessen, and for me to be able to face life on both firmly planted feet one more time.
I as angry at god. I was angry at the candle holder that caused the fire. I was angry at the place that sold said holder. Finally, I was angry at myself for not letting the place burn to the ground instead of trying to put out the fire ourselves.
When I saw that not only were the Amish relatives of the girls killed willing to forgive the attacker, but also demanded that some of the donations sent their way were also sent to the attacker's widow, I was left dumbfounded!
I am very much against mainstream christianity because I see none of the charlatans who claim to know the mind of Jesus Christ doing anything even close to following his words. As a matter of fact, the last person I knew who followed the message of Christ was the roommate I spoke of who died as a result the fire.
When I saw how the Amish responded to this horror, with dignity, humility, and grace, I knew that the message of Christ was still out there, and being practiced by true peoples of faith.
I think we all need to take a moment to ponder the power of the actions taken by the Amish in response to this atrocity. Is forgiveness a quaint, antiquated throwback to a more simple time, or is it perhaps what it's going to take to bring our poor tortured planet and species back to a point of balance?
Blessed be!
Pappy
by
Pappy (61 articles, 0 quicklinks, 11 diaries, 860 comments)
on Friday, October 6, 2006 at 4:24:51 PM
In our mangled culture, rage and revenge are more acceptable than forgiveness. Like so much else, it's 180 degrees out of phase.
With forgiveness, anger and fear dissipate. With forgiveness, understanding is possible. With forgiveness, it is but a small step to Peace, Love's other half.
by
Jim Prues (15 articles, 33 quicklinks, 10 diaries, 73 comments)
on Friday, October 6, 2006 at 4:52:42 PM
Thank you so very much for this article. Than you for sharing your faith and presenting to us an in-depth insight into the role of pain and suffering which seems to be our common human experience.
I am a minister of a denomination whose roots are founded in mainly four groups: The Amish, The Hutterites, The Swiss Brethren, and The Mennonites. These four groups are called "Anabaptist" in History. The Greek prefix 'ανα' or 'ana' means 'again'. They were called Anabaptist because they believed that baptism was only meant for those old enough to make a decision of either rejecting the call of Christ or accepting that call. When a person accepted the call of Christ, they baptized them by immersion although the person had previous been baptized by the Roman Catholic, Congregational, Presbyterian or Lutheran Church as a baby.
These four groups of Anabaptist were terribly persecuted by the Congregationalist (followers of Ulrich Zwingli), the Lutherans (followers of Martin Luther), the Presbyterians (followers of John Calvin) and the Roman Catholic Church. About 500,000 thousand of these Anabaptist were put to death by burning at the stake, drowning in rivers and lakes and a number of other methods.
There were many Anabatist groups who held very different or varied beliefs of doctrine (teachings). These four groups mentioned above held these major beliefs in common:
1. The Bible was the only measure of all Faith and Practice;
2. The Lutheran doctrine of salvation only by grace through faith in the finished workd of Christ on the cross;
3. They basically held all goods in common;
3. The church consists of true believers in Christ (not an earthly organization) and this true Church serves a Christ's ambassadors on the earth. The church is to reflect the love and forgiveness of Christ as He taught-love each other, love your neighbors, love your enemies and stay true to New Testament doctrine (teachings);
4. They are absolute pacifists.
5. They believe in an absolute Separation of Church and State to the extent they cannot serve in anyway in any war and hold taxes in escrow during a time of war which are given back to the state with interest after the war.
6. Since the church is ordained (appointed) of God with one mission and the State is ordained of God with another mission, they cannot and will not serve in any State function, even as a street sweeper; they hold that the Church's mission and the State mission are contradictory. For this purpose there must be the absolute separation. The Holy Scriptures they would usually point out is The Letter to the Romans, chapter 13; verses 1-7 (Romans 13:1-7). There are other New Testament passages they would use.
Verse 3 states, 'For rulers are not a terror to good works. but to the evil. Will you not then be afraid of the power (of the state)? Do that which is good, and you shall have praise of the same.
Verse 4, 'For he (the state ruler) is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do that which is evil, be afraid; for he (the state ruler) bears not the sword in vain; for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that does evil.'
One can easily see how the member of the state and a member of the true Church cannot be part of each other. The true Church member must 'love your enemies and do good to them that persecute you' while the member of the state must bear the sword on them who do evil.
I have hurriedly written this at one sitting. My danger is to caricature. I trust that this is an accurate and honest view. One can easily go to Google and 'Google in' Amish,' 'Hutterite,' 'Swiss Brethren,' and 'Mennonite.' Find one of their sites and read for yourself. They are a very misunderstood and a very wonderful people. Their industry of farm life is as proverbial as their separate lives from the outside world. As human beings, they have their weaknesses and sins as we all do. If we were all Swiss Brethren or Mennonites there would be no wars; however, alas, that is not menat to be nor will it ever be on this earth in this life.
Phil Ratliff,
I am just a Baptist (the 'ana' has dropped off according Grimm's Law of languages. It happened sometime in the sixteen century during the second great Anabaptist persecution. During that time my denomination became known simply as Baptist. Sometimes I am afraid because of the likes of Pat Robertson and Jerry Fallwell that more than the 'Ana' has dropped off of my loved denomination. They have hijacked my denomination as Bush and Cheney have hijacked my Constitution. It is a sad time.).
by
pratliff94 (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 962 comments)
on Friday, October 6, 2006 at 9:20:05 PM
7 comments
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