For those of you who are either not related to me or who are related to me but have been living under a rock, my two brothers-in-law have both found employment. The paralegal is now employed and making himself indispensable at a small law firm in Texas and the delivery driver is now with his former employer's competition.
Good things come to those who wait? Maybe. But more accurately, the prayers of the faithful are answered.
Congratulations to both!
Monday, September 20, 2010
Sunday, September 12, 2010
The Wounds Are Still Open
While I was driving to work, I heard Maria of NPR's "Latino USA" comment that the wounds of September 11 are still open. She went on to interview several Muslims who are trying to champion the cause of peace and to take back their religion that has "been hijacked by extremists".
I think there are two reasons why these wounds are still open. The first is controversial -- we keep talking about it. I am not saying that the lives lost are no longer of value or that we should forget this national tragedy, but we need to stop using the events of that day as some kind of crutch -- everything wrong is NOT a direct result of the twin towers being attacked.
That's crazy talk. Would we be mired in a war in the desert if the attacks hadn't happened? Actually, we might. The genesis might have been different, but the result may have been the same. Would the economy have crumbled if the World Trade Center had not collapsed? It probably would have. The nation was living on borrowed money and borrowed time. The stock market was insanely inflated, the housing market was worse, and the Prophet of God specifically warned the people to get out of debt some five years earlier. Would Congress and the Presidency be so incredibly factioned if America had not been attacked on its own soil? Be reasonable -- Congress has been growing more factioned every year -- this is just the natural, although regrettable, progression of politics. The pendulum will swing back. And it will swing back not because of any outside influence or attack or achievement. It will swing back because that is what pendulums do.
So shut up already about September 11 and the attacks that occurred. And, yes, I am wearing a fire proof suit in preparation for the flaming that such a statement will produce. But hear me out -- the events of that day were absolutely awful and terrible (and, yes, I meant to use both words for their dissimilar meanings). But we have to move on. We cannot let the insanity rule our lives, or, more apt to my point, become the catalyst or whipping boy for all of our decisions. We are big boys and girls. Maybe even a little more mature since those events occurred. But stop blaming them for all of your problems. Even those who lost family members on that day (or in the subsequent days of battle) must move on with their lives. Otherwise, their grief and pain will consume them and they will waste the precious gift that life really is. They will waste the sacrifices of our soldiers and fire fighters and police and so many others. It is time to stop being consumed by the horrors. Honor the dead, say a prayer of thanksgiving, lay a plaque and set up a scholarship fund for the fire fighter's children? Absolutely. But stop using September 11 as the scapegoat for every other bad day that follows.
The second reason is even more controversial -- we cannot heal the wounds until we forgive those we feel are guilty (and that may include ourselves). As a nation we have turned to hatred as opposed to forgiveness. The sentiment on September 12 was "let's nuke that desert nation into glass". Now we have those who wish to burn the Qu'ran and those who wish to build a Mosque at Ground Zero (or at least nearby) and those who scream "you are insensitive" and others who scream "you are to blame" and many others who scream just to be heard.
The wounds will never close while we continue to poke at them. Every article calling Muslims "evil" and every story about suicide bombers rams another pitchfork into those wounds and twists. Not all Christians want to burn the texts sacred to Islam. Not all Muslims want to kill you in an attempt to acquire 71 vestal virgins (or crystal clear raisins, depending on your translation skills). And even those who do hate and do wish another person or group dead are still worthy of our forgiveness.
I call on the nation and the people of the whole world (many of whom unfortunately do not read this blog) to put aside your hatred and forgive each other. Genuinely forgive those misguided men who drove airplanes into the buildings of NY or the field in PA. Forgive those leaders who sent their militaries to battle each other. Give up the hatred you feel for even those who live in caves and reportedly wish you dead. Be smart and do not trust them with your life, but forgive them and trust that God and the Universe will reward all according to their intentions and their actions.
It has been nine years. For many, that is only yesterday. For some, they have never known a world in which those events had not been part of our history. It is like those of us born after 1941 -- the attack on Pearl Harbor has always been a reality. We have never known a time when that had not happened. So it is with those who are just coming to understand the world around them -- September 11, 2001 has always been a reality.
And maybe it will take until our generation is long gone that we as a people will give up the hatred. Maybe the only cure to these festering wounds is death.
I hope that doesn't have to be the case. I pray that we can be at peace again. I would like to hope for a better future than the one staring at us through the smoke. I would like to leave this world knowing that my son and his cousins and friends will be able to enjoy life and not be harrowed up by the sins of their fathers.
But I know that will not happen as long as we don't let the wounds heal. Put the bandage over it and leave it alone. Eventually, there will be only a scar left -- a quiet reminder of what we should not forget, but for which we have no lingering reason to brag or curse.
I think there are two reasons why these wounds are still open. The first is controversial -- we keep talking about it. I am not saying that the lives lost are no longer of value or that we should forget this national tragedy, but we need to stop using the events of that day as some kind of crutch -- everything wrong is NOT a direct result of the twin towers being attacked.
That's crazy talk. Would we be mired in a war in the desert if the attacks hadn't happened? Actually, we might. The genesis might have been different, but the result may have been the same. Would the economy have crumbled if the World Trade Center had not collapsed? It probably would have. The nation was living on borrowed money and borrowed time. The stock market was insanely inflated, the housing market was worse, and the Prophet of God specifically warned the people to get out of debt some five years earlier. Would Congress and the Presidency be so incredibly factioned if America had not been attacked on its own soil? Be reasonable -- Congress has been growing more factioned every year -- this is just the natural, although regrettable, progression of politics. The pendulum will swing back. And it will swing back not because of any outside influence or attack or achievement. It will swing back because that is what pendulums do.
So shut up already about September 11 and the attacks that occurred. And, yes, I am wearing a fire proof suit in preparation for the flaming that such a statement will produce. But hear me out -- the events of that day were absolutely awful and terrible (and, yes, I meant to use both words for their dissimilar meanings). But we have to move on. We cannot let the insanity rule our lives, or, more apt to my point, become the catalyst or whipping boy for all of our decisions. We are big boys and girls. Maybe even a little more mature since those events occurred. But stop blaming them for all of your problems. Even those who lost family members on that day (or in the subsequent days of battle) must move on with their lives. Otherwise, their grief and pain will consume them and they will waste the precious gift that life really is. They will waste the sacrifices of our soldiers and fire fighters and police and so many others. It is time to stop being consumed by the horrors. Honor the dead, say a prayer of thanksgiving, lay a plaque and set up a scholarship fund for the fire fighter's children? Absolutely. But stop using September 11 as the scapegoat for every other bad day that follows.
The second reason is even more controversial -- we cannot heal the wounds until we forgive those we feel are guilty (and that may include ourselves). As a nation we have turned to hatred as opposed to forgiveness. The sentiment on September 12 was "let's nuke that desert nation into glass". Now we have those who wish to burn the Qu'ran and those who wish to build a Mosque at Ground Zero (or at least nearby) and those who scream "you are insensitive" and others who scream "you are to blame" and many others who scream just to be heard.
The wounds will never close while we continue to poke at them. Every article calling Muslims "evil" and every story about suicide bombers rams another pitchfork into those wounds and twists. Not all Christians want to burn the texts sacred to Islam. Not all Muslims want to kill you in an attempt to acquire 71 vestal virgins (or crystal clear raisins, depending on your translation skills). And even those who do hate and do wish another person or group dead are still worthy of our forgiveness.
I call on the nation and the people of the whole world (many of whom unfortunately do not read this blog) to put aside your hatred and forgive each other. Genuinely forgive those misguided men who drove airplanes into the buildings of NY or the field in PA. Forgive those leaders who sent their militaries to battle each other. Give up the hatred you feel for even those who live in caves and reportedly wish you dead. Be smart and do not trust them with your life, but forgive them and trust that God and the Universe will reward all according to their intentions and their actions.
It has been nine years. For many, that is only yesterday. For some, they have never known a world in which those events had not been part of our history. It is like those of us born after 1941 -- the attack on Pearl Harbor has always been a reality. We have never known a time when that had not happened. So it is with those who are just coming to understand the world around them -- September 11, 2001 has always been a reality.
And maybe it will take until our generation is long gone that we as a people will give up the hatred. Maybe the only cure to these festering wounds is death.
I hope that doesn't have to be the case. I pray that we can be at peace again. I would like to hope for a better future than the one staring at us through the smoke. I would like to leave this world knowing that my son and his cousins and friends will be able to enjoy life and not be harrowed up by the sins of their fathers.
But I know that will not happen as long as we don't let the wounds heal. Put the bandage over it and leave it alone. Eventually, there will be only a scar left -- a quiet reminder of what we should not forget, but for which we have no lingering reason to brag or curse.
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