"The United States is not a Christian nation any more than it is a Jewish or a Mohammedan nation." (Treaty of Tripoli (1797), signed by John Adams)     "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." (Edmund Burke)

Like everyone around the world, I'm still reeling from the tragic and desperate acts of terrorism that occurred here in the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. Like everyone around the world, what started out as just another day held unforeseen events that changed my life forever. That there are still souls who are so lost and loveless they are willing to destroy themselves in the attempt to destroy others is almost beyond imagination. Yet, they do exist and imagination has become sad reality.

As the death toll continues to mount, my tears continue to fall. Yet there is hope in the global expressions of unity. Those who seek to destroy the United States apparently forgot we are the "melting pot" of the world. And so this was not just an American tragedy, the victims were from nearly every nation on our beloved Earth, and there is not a single country where a mother, a father, or a family is not crying for the loss of a child or loved one. By striking at the perceived "heart" of this country without understanding the nature of that heart, they missed their mark and instead ignited a burning and global desire to rid the world of the insanity of such hatred.

Upon reflection as the days have passed since that horrible day, I find no hate in my heart. Anger, yes, but not hate. Instead there is a heavy sadness and pity. To perceive the world from such rage-filled perceptions of others must be a painful life indeed. A form of madness, dark, dismal, and utterly without hope; driven by fear to gain temporal power through the destruction of the innocent.

My personal beliefs, however, do not see any of us as truly "innocent". And in pondering this and the events of September 11th, one of the thoughts that crossed my mind was a sort of wondering puzzlement that so many had such heavy karmic debts that an event of this magnitude was necessary to move back towards balance. Why? Why such a high price? What did they do, what did we sow as a society and as a global collective, to find our Selves now reaping such sorrow?

Alas, though it would certainly help make sense of it all, such is not mine to know. Instead, I must simply grieve along with the rest of the world and pray that the debt has been settled and we now move forward with greater understanding and more truly peaceful hearts.

There have been many words written about the events of September 11th. Words which not only express the grief, words which not only inspire, but words of the individual experiences of which ultimately, that tragic day was made. I have saved some, and the link below will take you to them.

In Their Own Words

It has been said that there is truth in humor, and the following piece of satire proves it. I consider it recommended reading. For everyone.

God Angrily Clarifies 'Don't Kill' Rule

The following is an editorial allegedly printed in a Romanian newspaper and provided by an Army public affairs officer deployed in the region. It offers a positive and insightful view on the events of September 11th from a surprising source.

An Ode To America

Why are Americans so united? They don't resemble one another even if you paint them! They speak all the languages of the world and form an astonishing mixture of civilizations. Some of them are nearly extinct, others are incompatible with one another, and in matters of religious beliefs, not even God can count how many they are.

Still, the American tragedy turned three hundred million people into a hand put on the heart. Nobody rushed to accuse the White House, the army, the secret services that they are only a bunch of losers. Nobody rushed to empty their bank accounts. Nobody rushed on the streets nearby to gape about. The Americans volunteered to donate blood and to give a helping hand. After the first moments of panic, they raised the flag on the smoking ruins, putting on t-shirts, caps and ties in the colors of the national flag. They placed flags on buildings and cars as if in every place and on every car a minister or the president was passing. On every occasion they started singing their traditional song: "God Bless America!"

Silent as a rock, I watched the charity concert broadcast on Saturday once, twice, three times, on different TV channels. There were Clint Eastwood, Willie Nelson, Robert de Niro, Julia Roberts, Cassius Clay, Jack Nicholson, Bruce Springsteen, Silvester Stalone, James Wood, and many others whom no film or producers could ever bring together. The American's solidarity spirit turned them into a choir. Actually, choir is not the word. What you could hear was the heavy artillery of the American soul. What neither George W. Bush, nor Bill Clinton, nor Colin Powell could say without facing the risk of stumbling over words and sounds, was being heard in a great and unmistakable way in this charity concert.

I don't know how it happened that all this obsessive singing of America didn't sound croaky, nationalist, or ostentatious! It made you green with envy because you weren't able to sing for your country without running the risk of being considered chauvinist, ridiculous, or suspected of who-knows-what mean interests.

I watched the live broadcast and the rerun of its rerun for hours listening to the story of the guy who went down one hundred floors with a woman in a wheelchair without knowing who she was, or of the Californian hockey player, who fought with the terrorists and prevented the plane from hitting a target that would have killed other hundreds or thousands of people. How on earth were they able to bow before a fellow human?

Imperceptibly, with every word and musical note, the memory of some turned into a modern myth of tragic heroes. And with every phone call, millions and millions of dollars were put in a collection aimed at rewarding not a man or a family, but a spirit which nothing can buy.

What on earth can unite the Americans in such a way? Their land? Their galloping history? Their economic power? Money? I tried for hours to find an answer, humming songs and murmuring phrases which risk of sounding like commonplaces. I thought things over, but I reached only one conclusion.

Only freedom can work such miracles.

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