On September 20, 2001, President Bush gave a speech announcing his intention to carry on a "War on Terror" begun by mindless followers brainwised by the sadistic rantings of Usama bin Laden. What follows is an exerpt from that speech:
We have seen the state of our Union in the endurance of rescuers working past exhaustion.
We've seen the unfurling of flags, the lighting of candles, the giving of blood, the saying of prayers in English, Hebrew and Arabic.
We have seen the decency of a loving and giving people who have made the grief of strangers their own.
My fellow citizens, for the last nine days, the entire world has seen for itself the state of union, and it is strong.
Tonight, we are a country awakened to danger and called to defend freedom. Our grief has turned to anger and anger to resolution. Whether we bring our enemies to justice or bring justice to our enemies, justice will be done.
I thank the Congress for its leadership at such an important time.
All of America was touched on the evening of the tragedy to see Republicans and Democrats joined together on the steps of this Capitol singing "God Bless America."
---
I have to admit I searched the internet high and low for a picture of Dennis Hastert leading the members of Congress in this unprecidented event. Though it was more than 5 years ago, I remember it as if it were yesterday. As the president said, Democrat and Republican alike joined hands -- metaphorically and literally speaking -- in the prayer and acknowledgement of a Supreme Being. Did they express that it was a Christian God they were acknowledging? No. Did they pray "we love you, oh Christian God in Heaven"? No. But the manner in which the ceremony was conducted was nonetheless Judeo-Christian in its roots. It was a ceremony conducted without fear. And it was a ceremony echoed on courthouse steps, in schools, in private homes, corporations and churches all across the country. For once, we were united. As the words of the Pledge of Allegiance says, for once we were "...One Nation Under God..."
Later, in this same speech, Bush said the following:
And on behalf of the American people, I thank the world for its outpouring of support.
America will never forget the sounds of our national anthem playing at Buckingham Palace, on the streets of Paris and at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.
We will not forget South Korean children gathering to pray outside our embassy in Seoul, or the prayers of sympathy offered at a mosque in Cairo.
We will not forget moments of silence and days of mourning in Australia and Africa and Latin America.
Nor will we forget the citizens of 80 other nations who died with our own. Dozens of Pakistanis, more than 130 Israelis, more than 250 citizens of India, men and women from El Salvador, Iran, Mexico and Japan, and hundreds of British citizens.
----
Here's the problem. Bush talked about all the things we would not forget. We would not forget our national anthem being played in tributes across the globe. We would not lose sight of the more than 80 nations who lost citizens on that horrific day. We would not let fade the memories of universal unity and the agreement that this evil must be defeated. We would not forget and we would not waver in our resolve...
And then we blinked.
As the smoke cleared and the cries of our nations' dead faded into distant memory, the nation as a whole, lost sight of reality. We let go of the helpless, frightened, confused feelings we all shared as we watched the Twin Towers fall, the Pentagon smoulder and glued ourselves to news stories of a downed plane in a Pennsylvania field.
Our minds forgot the images released later that year of bin Laden and several associates laughing in amazement, commenting that they had calculated only the first few floors of the buildings would fall, leaving the rest intact. How gleefully they celebrated at what they must have considered a "heavenly" stroke of luck.
Over time, we even forgot how we turned to God in this time of great human frailty. As the smoke cleared and the wounds began to heal, suddenly we did what we always do as a human race. We turned our back to God and relied on our own strengths, our own will power, our own perceptions and, most sad of all, our own blind self-assurance that God had taken care of us so we didn't need him any more. There wasn't any tragedy, so God could go back to playing with his toys in the corner or whatever. He could go back to tinkering with the stars or creating a new species of animal or making a way for the White Sox to win the championship. You know, all that pointless stuff that God does.
2003 saw the Columbia space shuttle disaster that took the lives of seven valiant and courageous heroes. On that day, the nation again bowed its head in prayer, fervently beseeching a Supreme Creator for peace and comfort in the time of great sorrow.
In 2004, when terrorists attacked a train in Madrid, Spain, even Americans again turned to a God they had ignored for months after the fire had died from the Columbia tragedy.
2005's London subway attacks again brought the God seekers out in droves. More recently -- October of 2006 to be exact -- when an Amish school was shot up by a crazed member of their own community, God again was asked to comfort us in our time of grief and confusion.
Since the horrible events of April 16, 2007, I've seen and heard politicians, celebrities and newscasters on every channel offering their prayers, thoughts and well-wishes. I can't even count the number of times I've heard someone say "I'm praying for you" or "We will have you in our prayers." And you know what? It's a sweet thought. But it's also a sickening thought. Why? Because the words are empty. I would love to know how many prayers Simon Cowell actually said for the victims and families of Virginia Tech. How many times has Ryan Seacrest actually bent a knee and closed his eyes, asking his Creator to give comfort to those families? How many prayers have Keith Olberman, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama actually offered up in the name of the violence that occured? How many of them actually grieve for these 33 people with whom they had no connection? How many of them truly give thought to the many people still hospitalized from wounds suffered on that horrid day?
How many still pray for the victims of Columbine, the anniversary of which is tomorrow. When was the last time any of them actually gave thought to the survivors (or the victimes) of the Branch Davidian stand-off in Waco, Texas? (The anniversary of which is today!) When was the last time Paris Hilton or some other celebrity actually got down on their knees for something meaningful? (Which is to say, not a sex act!)
Are we supposed to spend the rest of our lives in mourning for these people? No, of course not. I know that's where this way of thinking was leading you, but that's not my message. The point I am trying to make is that people are so empty anymore. No one really cares. You offer up your empty promises of prayer and consider your good deed done for the day. What I'd like to know is how many of you actually make good on your promise to pray?
I honestly can't count the number of comforting e-mails I've gotten in the past few days, as I have posted message after message about my grandmother's recent health struggles. To read these promises of prayer and well wishes for myself and my family has been extraordinarily comforting. By and large, I've been reasonably sure that those of you who have said you're going to pray have, in fact, prayed. If you're like me -- and many of you are -- chances are many of you prayed even as you were e-mailing me your comforting words of affection.
A couple of times, however, I will admit I wondered if this or that person was actually praying. In the long run, I don't think it's as important as who actually IS praying, but I admit I have had my doubts a few times. Especially in the wake of the events of April 16th, 2007. So many empty words. So many politicians encouraging people to pray. Six months from now, these are the same people who will be saying they agree with the ACLU that Christianity is evil but to eliminate Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism or Atheism for that matter is infringing on the free speech of these citizens. Six months from now, when the wounds of April 16th have healed, Americans will do what it always does when they feel like they no longer need God. They'll tell him to run along and go play.
"Just stay over there, God, so that we know where to find you the next time a plane hits our buildings or some wack job foreigner decides he wants to shoot up the school because nobody wants to play with him or when some other idiot decides he's Jesus Christ incarnate and wants to walk 800 people to their deaths... Don't call us, God. We'll call you."
People, it's time to wake up. God doesn't work that way. God is not Santa Claus watching to see if you've been good or bad, checking the naughty list twice and waiting for you to pray for that new pair of jeans you want.
God is not a Deity of convenience. Either you're willing to worship him in the good times or you're not. But if you're not, don't bother turning to him in times of trouble, you stinking hypocrite! I don't know about God, but I don't want to hear it. God's not good enough for you to worship in times of Joy, but he's good enough for you to call upon when you finally realize how powerless you are to truly effect real change in the world?
It's time to decide if the 80 percent of you who claim to be Christian really are what you say you are. It's time to put up or shut up in this world. I truly do sympathize with the events on the Virginia Tech campus and when I say I do pray -- and have prayed -- for the victims and their families, I mean it. I have prayed many times in the past few days. I continue to do so even as I am writing this blog. For those of you out there offering your pitiful meaningless well-wishes and empty, unfulfilled promises of prayer, I say SHAME ON YOU! How dare you offer up a false sense of security. Again, the speech President Bush made on September 20, 2001 rings in my mind.
We're not deceived by their pretenses to piety.
Americans are asking, "How will we fight and win this war?" We will direct every resource at our command -- every means of diplomacy, every tool of intelligence, every instrument of law enforcement, every financial influence and every necessary weapon of war -- to the destruction and to the defeat of the global terror network.
This is the world's fight. This is civilization's fight. This is the fight of all who believe in progress and pluralism, tolerance and freedom.
We ask every nation to join us.
We will ask and we will need the help of police forces, intelligence services and banking systems around the world. The United States is grateful that many nations and many international organizations have already responded with sympathy and with support -- nations from Latin America, to Asia, to Africa, to Europe, to the Islamic world.
Perhaps the NATO charter reflects best the attitude of the world: An attack on one is an attack on all. The civilized world is rallying to America's side.
They understand that if this terror goes unpunished, their own cities, their own citizens may be next. Terror unanswered cannot only bring down buildings, it can threaten the stability of legitimate governments.
And you know what? We're not going to allow it.
Americans are asking, "What is expected of us?"
I ask you to live your lives and hug your children.
---
Today, I echo President Bush's words. What can you do to stop this tragedy from occuring? Several things. But above all, live your life and hug your children. Hug your children. That's easy to define. But what does it mean to live your life? It means keeping your eyes on God, plain and simple. It means loving Him through the good times as much as you rely on Him during hard times.
As long as the United States of America is determined and strong, this will not be an age of terror. This will be an age of liberty here and across the world.
Great harm has been done to us. We have suffered great loss. And in our grief and anger, we have found our mission and our moment.
Freedom and fear are at war. The advance of human freedom, the great achievement of our time and the great hope of every time, now depends on us....Even grief recedes with time and grace.
In all that lies before us, may God grant us wisdom, and may he watch over the United States of America.
----
Until next time, may God watch over the blog brought to you by the letters W, E and H and by the number 2.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment