Only Fools Fall in Love

After letting things breathe a bit I think it is fair on my part to say a bit more about the tragedy that plagued my country eight years ago. Terrorism is akin to gang activity on a global scale, and new and innovative methods are needed to not only protect citizens at home and abroad, but diplomacy is the only course of action. I am sure that those who are charged with protecting our rights and freedoms are working to protect us in this matter. The human heart is the most complicated thing known to humanity, it is so admired through that ages that it was the only organ in the body that Egyptians placed back in the body when mummified in the hopes that it would guide them in the next world. The book of Psalms a collection of prayers written by King David expresses himself very candidly in the presence of the divine. In the 120th Psalm, David the Psalmist cries to the Lord in the spirit of breveavment over his course of action, in response to something that was causing him a great deal of pain. I am not sure what his course of action was after the fact but he is hailed as one of the greatest men who ever lived. The last line of the Psalm goes: I am a man of peace but when I speak they are for war. No one knows what happened after this but the creator and David, but one could assume that the best course of action was taken to cause the least amount of harm. His successor, and son Solomon spread wisdom like seeds on fresh fertile soil; in his offering of Proverbs he speaks a lot to the frailties of the mind and heart of foolish men. The perpetrators of 9/11 were very foolish men with no sight of what the true aim of their spiritual tradition beckons in all that choose that path.

The divine has been trying to reach us via his messengers for ages, and like stubborn children we have been hanging up the phone. The perpetrators of the America’s new day of infamy were lonely, tired souls, who may have been taken advantage of because of their affinity for the Divine. The spiritual tradition that I subscribe to tells me to love my enemies, but I never forget that I am counseled by Christ in that he tells us “to be sly as the serpent and innocent as doves.” I am not opposed to war just unwise unjust wars. I know peace can sound all corny, and Lennonesque (John Lennon that is) but if you know peace you understand. After being urged by Thich Nhat Hanh, Martin Luther King spoke out against the war in Vietnam he quipped in response to the ‘political’ climate at the time “ my nation is the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today” Dr. King gave his heart to the country that he loved, as did those men and women in uniform today that lay their lives on the line to protect what we call freedom here in America. But I challenge it is extremely hard to sell a ‘product’ like peace and democracy at the wrong end of a rifle. I think what Dr. King was saying in reference to the raging war in Vietnam, when he said ‘one of the greatest in the world today’ is that there is a possibility of change and redemption. Even for a nation’s collective sins.

God Bless the Dead

Today is we pay homage to those whose lives were cut short on that tragic day that jarred the minds and hearts of Americans and the world community at large. Those towers that we held so close to our hearts will never lift themselves from the ashes at Ground Zero. The classic literary device known as a Phoenix is one that burns every night and rises from the ashes every morning. The Twin towers a we knew them will never exist again. In Genesis chapter 11 the people of earth built a tower called Babel, the aim of his tower was to reach the heavens so that they could “make a name for themselves.” The Creator came down and saw this and was quite disappointed, so angels were sent down to scatter the height of the tower and send the people confused so that they didn’t understand one another. The creator may delight in our hard work, and diligent effort but I am sure that the Divine frowns on those who take shortcuts.

Having lost those close to me in the past, my heart goes out to all those who lost a loved one. But I offer this the constant toiling of those who passed on the dreadful day will not alleviate the wounds we suffer as a people. I believe that they are on a much more peaceful plan of existence, their suffering was hash, but like time it has passed and they have moved on. If we really want to honor and pay homage to our fellow Americans, we could keep our tea bags in cups of hot water; and urge our lawmakers to legislate universal healthcare, and peace to our brothers and sisters across the globe. Memorials that force us to carry the baggage days like today remind me of an instance in the gospel of Matthew (8:22) where Jesus is asked by one of his disciples if he could go bury his father. Jesus responded “let the dead bury the dead.” The only reason I offer this is because of what drove the offenders of Islam to do what it is that they did on that dreadful day. They were what us People of the Book call “dead in their transgressions.” Their crime was baseless in that they involved innocent souls in a quarrel they had with others. If one examined the holy book known as the Qur’an it is one bringing a message of peace and prosperity.
There is no right or wrong climate for recovery from mourning, the morbid nature of death on any scale small or large drives the human spirit to take drastic measures in order to make things right. As we memorialize our dead on this day I also ask that we take time to consider our brothers and sisters in the hills and mountains of Afghanistan and the sandy Oasis that is Iraq. Our response to our tragedy has caused them great harm too. While we as a people have uprooted a very unjust regime in Afghanistan we have created new wounds, and given way to fresh tears of mourning. The best thing we can do to honor our fellow Americans is make right some of the things that are wrong, and make right some of our collective sin that our legislators have created. We are all capable of mistakes and making rash choices in the heat of the moment, but the creator didn’t pull us out of the dust to continue on this disastrous trail.