Writing this was odd, because as I read it I realize that it's not much different that the sentiments I've seen posted all week. Doesn't really matter, daylogs - for me - are for about anything- so this is mine.
It’s so easy to hate. So easy to lash out and try to take revenge for all
of the hate that’s occurred in the last week- and I feel as if we’re being
led down some path by a leash. We’ve managed to put on the blinders and
ignore
the reason and logic that we should be using - all in the name of hate and revenge.
I got an email from a friend of mine called “forecast” that gives a fictitious
weather forecast dealing with mushroom clouds and destruction in
Afghanistan. It’s as if the fear and dread that we’ve had for war and
destruction is sliding away into blood and hate and anticipation.
Do we really
know what the consequences will be if we go to war over this senseless act of
killing? I don’t know. Do I want justice? Yes. I do. I want those who are responsible brought to a
court and tried for their crimes. Yes, I want it all to
stop, but I don’t want thousands more dead just for our sense of
justice.
I keep seeing all of the cries for war, for vengeance, for justice - and I
don’t know what will prevail. Are we truly wise enough to mete out justice or
are we simply acting out the role of victim and preparing to strike out of
anger? God, I want us to be wise.
I’ve had so many conversations with people regarding all of this. Almost
everyone I speak with has the same sentiment - that we want this done correctly.
We want this done right… but the question I have is: do we have a government
full of people thinking the same thing? Do we have leadership that understands
that vengeance is not justice? Do they understand that, while some of these
nations have people who hate us, the nations are also filled with people who are
simply trying to make their lives as happy and peaceful as we? As a nation, we
are not innocent bystanders. We HAVE done damage and we DO have blood on our
hands- regretfully. We did not deserve the
attack; those people did not deserve to die. But
the new blood taken does not give us the right of vengeance. We must tread so
carefully.
And it comes to the question of “what we are willing to do for ‘justice’?”
I would only hope that we are not foolish enough to blunder into a situation
that brings not only the US to the brink of destruction but also the world.
There is no good war; there is no good death. We should know this. But those who
forget history are doomed to repeat it.
Nuclear warfare is no laughing matter. If we think that the destruction at
the WTC is horrible, then we must understand that to
exacerbate the issue by indiscriminate bombing will only bring more hate and the death of the
innocent.
We may never get to nuclear bombardment - I only hope we won’t be so foolish
to think that we could use such devices in this.
We must also learn from our mistakes in South and Central
America and Iraq when we deal
with those people who oppose the Taliban and the fundamentalists harboring Bin
Laden. Is the enemy of my enemy truly my
friend? We must determine with a clear
mind and ask ourselves this question: “Would we support this group if the WTC
disaster never happened?” and “Are these people seeking a free society, or
are they simply another scattered faction of power with the desire to rule
rather than the need to govern peacefully?”
Personally, I don’t know their motivations. I only hope we have enough
sense to use our heads to not only find justice, but to truly make the world a
safer place- for all.
We must be the example here; we cannot allow our pain turn into the types of
‘eye for an eye’ attacks that we currently see in the Middle East. My hope
is that the time we take to investigate is well spent- not only in finding the
perpetrators- but also in learning why this happened and how to change for the better. We must be the example. We must show that
it is possible
to fight hate with justice and patience. We must show that to strike out,
without pause, when one of us is damaged only makes the matter far worse.
The most recent sign of the example we must be can be shown recently when
Arafat
instructed his defense force to “exercise maximum self-restraint in the face
of Israeli aggression and attacks” and the Israeli Defense Ministry confirmed
it was halting all offensive operations against the Palestinians.
Hope.
If we must strike, I only hope that we do it because we must and not
just because we can.