I am sorry. I am a dilettente, and perhaps a sponge. I remember reading that when FDR said "We have nothing to fear but fear itself", he was quoting. Which means it had happened before.
And it is happening again.
It has happened many times. We fear, we strike, we kill, we fight....
Doesn't mean there are are not reasons to fight. Doesn't mean we don't have enemies that imperil us. But in fear, we often include innocent people.
My fear is that it is happening again. It has happened over and over. A lot of times, it is the little guy that loses--life, liberty, possessions.
There's the mosque or community center several blocks from ground zero, where by the way, several Moslem (even American) victims fell.
Then there's the bookburner who plans to burn the Koran on Sept.11. A bookburner in particular is repugnant to me. That he chooses to burn religious books, of whatever faith, makes me want to vomit. He has the right. But he is evil.
I don't use that word lightly. Evil. I've seen it. I know it exists. It is horrible when directed towards children or neighbors or supposed friends. Evil. It is a total disruption of the peaceful,loving course of life. It is a total disregard of the well being of others.
Do we have to have someone to hate? Is it a human need, at least for some? Sept. 11 gave us no country to fight, and in my opinion, no religion. But there are terrorists. Extremists. Do we blame a whole religion for that? Some apparently do.
Tim McVeighy parroted Christian teachings. And he bombed Oklahoma City. Very successfully. And we don't condemn Christianity.
We don't know the Koran. How many of us have read the Bible? Damn few. Moslems, Christians, and Jews share two commandments: Love the Lord Your God with All Your Might, and Love Your Neighbors As Yourselves. Most of us in all three religions fail to live up to that.
That causes trouble.
Will there be protesters at the burning of the Koran? I hope so.
This is a better country than that. We can absorb such as these. We do not have to agree with them.
And I do not. I hate it with every fiber of my being, and agree with my country's constitution that however repugnant it is, he has the right. Goddamn him. That, of course, is out of my hands.
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The sad thing is that many in other countries will think that this book burner represents all Americans; just as many Americans think that the 9/11 attackers represent all Muslims.
And so it goes on. It's hard to believe that the small deeds of goodness that we can each do in our lives every day can combat what seems like evil on such a huge scale. But that's just what we have to do.
Both sides of this frustrate me. There are other great places a mosque can be built that would offend no one. There is no possible good that can come from burning the religious book of another's faith. "Do unto others" is not a phrase that is being put into practice here.
I'm with you on this one, Clair.
So tomorrow I'm going to look for a way to be nice to someone; I'm going to smile at the lady behind the cash register when I get my coffee, look her in the eye, and say "Thank you! Have a nice weekend, and I'll see you on Monday morning." Not much else I can do; but if I had to stand behind that register and take $1.25from each person who walked in, I think I would appreciate it if someone treated me as if I mattered.
Charlotte, your title to this post is perfect.
Thank you, Deb. I don't often get this emotional. And like you, I will do, as I did today, what I can that is good in my life. I have a friend that has a much bigger canvas, much bigger dreams. I told her I don't have the faith for that. I can be courteous and kind, not only to those I love but to strangers and acquaintances. I try to go beyond this. But I don't believe prejudices and human failure is going to lead to perfection. I'm glad she does believe. She's a nice contrast to this creep.
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