Friends-- I beg your indulgence to my response about the events of
this unbelievable day---
I echo the words of Mary Ann, below---
>
>I know that many people around the world live with the fear and pain of
>sudden bombings and violence. This day's events have made me more aware of
>the horror that others suffer on a daily basis.
I. too. was struck by the innocence we in America have been able to
cling to for so long, when fellow humans all over the world have
suffered direct and massive violence in so many ways. Pearl Harbor,
terrible as it was, was on an island out in the Pacific--no buildings
or homes on the mainland were destroyed, as happened in Berlin,
Dresden, London, Coventry, Hiroshima, Nagasaki--and in more recent
cases in Kosovo and in so many countries in Africa. Those who
relied on the fantasy of a "missile shield" to protect us have had a
stunning wake-up call today.
My fear now is that the shock and disbelief we feel will turn to
anger, and that anger may be directed at the first suspects in our
line of view---remember that at the time of the Oklahoma bombing
there was harassment and persecution of "Arabs" on the immediate
assumption that "they" must have done it----what a shock that it was
the terrible work of an American ....... let's hope people will wait
for our government to investigate before striking out in
retaliation, as we just might be wrong again. As someone said, "at
least at Pearl Harbor there was a return address."
I believe, as Ivan does, in the need for peace and reconciliation,
and dealing with the underlying causes of the hatred against our
country which fuels these dreadful acts of violence. We must offer
our gratitude and prayers to those who are responding to this
tragedy, rescuing and caring for those who are injured, comforting
those who are grieving, and working to end this cycle of violence
and retribution, which only feeds on itself.
In no way can I condone this or any other act of violence---as we see
daily in the Middle East, one blow only provokes a counter blow, and
the killing of the innocent escalates . I think it was Gandhi who
said, "An eye for an eye leaves everyone blind." My prayer tonight
is that all of us, and especially those who guide our government,
will not be blinded by fear , anger , and the wish for revenge, for
truly, "what goes around comes around".
--
Shalom, Camilla <[log in to unmask]>
on the web at http://www.geocities.com/camillahf/index.html
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"In matters of conscience,
the law of majority
has no place."
---Mohandas K. Gandhi
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