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older!rings!cast!join!sign!contact!rank!bmd, inc! redniko*cubicle girl*kuinileti*boy-ashamed*beautifulson*torrez*the fool*the silence*blue kitten*ewige*reality is shy*spanklin*penguin queen*the darkness < -- > |
| 04/16/06*04/16/06b*04/16/06c*8/13/02*08/03/02 | 4:40 p.m. Leonard Pitts Column From the Miami Herald Published Wednesday, September 12, 2001 We'll go forward from this moment. It's my job to have something to say. They pay me to provide words that help make sense of that which troubles the American soul. But in this moment of airless shock when hot tears sting disbelieving eyes, the only thing I can find to say, the only words that seem to fit, must be addressed to the unknown author of this suffering. You monster. You beast. You unspeakable bastard. What lesson did you hope to teach us by your coward's attack on our World Trade Center, our Pentagon, us? What was it you hoped we would learn? Whatever it was, please know that you failed. Did you want us to respect your cause? You just damned your cause. Did you want to make us fear? You just steeled our resolve. Did you want to tear us apart? You just brought us together. Let me tell you about my people. We are a vast and quarrelsome family, a family rent by racial, social, political and class division, but a family nonetheless. We're frivolous, yes, capable of expending tremendous emotional energy on pop cultural minutiae -- a singer's revealing dress, a ball team's misfortune, a cartoon mouse. We're wealthy. Spoiled by the ready availability of trinkets and material goods, and maybe because of that, we walk through life with a certain sense of blithe entitlement. We are fundamentally decent, though -- peace-loving and compassionate. We struggle to know the right thing and to do it. And we are, the overwhelming majority of us, people of faith, believers in a just and loving God. Some people -- you, perhaps -- think that any or all of this makes us weak. You're mistaken. We are not weak. Indeed, we are strong in ways that cannot be measured by arsenals. IN PAIN? Yes, we're in pain now. We are in mourning and we are in shock. We're still grappling with the unreality of the awful thing you did, still working to make ourselves understand that this isn't a special effect from some Hollywood blockbuster, isn't the plot development from a Tom Clancy novel. Both in terms of the awful scope of their ambition and the probable final death toll, your attacks are likely to go down as the worst acts of terrorism in the history of the United States and, probably, the history of the world. You've bloodied us as we have never been bloodied before. But there's a gulf of difference between making us bloody and making us fall. This is the lesson Japan was taught to its bitter sorrow the last time anyone hit us this hard, the last time anyone brought us such abrupt and monumental pain. When roused, we are righteous in our outrage, terrible in our force. When provoked by this level of barbarism, we will bear any suffering, pay any cost, go to any length, in the pursuit of justice. I tell you this without fear of contradiction. I know my people, as you, I think, do not. What I know reassures me. It also causes me to tremble with dread of the future. In the days to come, there will be recrimination and accusation, fingers pointing to determine whose failure allowed this to happen and what can be done to prevent it from happening again. There will be heightened security, misguided talk of revoking basic freedoms. We'll go forward from this moment sobered, chastened, sad. But determined, too. Unimaginably determined. THE STEEL IN US. You see, the steel in us is not always readily apparent. That aspect of our character is seldom understood by people who don't know us well. On this day, the family's bickering is put on hold. As Americans we will weep, as Americans we will mourn, and as Americans, we will rise in defense of all that we cherish. So I ask again: What was it you hoped to teach us? It occurs to me that maybe you just wanted us to know the depths of your hatred. If that's the case, consider the message received. And take this message in exchange: You don't know my people. You don't know what we're capable of. You don't know what you just started. But you're about to learn. if you havent already donated something to someone, there are some things the red cross, salvation army, and other organizations are saying they need more than blood. money, non-perishable food items, cell-phone battery chargers, batteries of all sizes, saline solution, diapers, formula. go here to donate. if you are still wanting to give blood, plasma, or platelets, the best thing to do is call your local red cross and make an appointment. they are overwhelmed with the amount of blood they have received thus far. if you do not make an appointment, be prepared to wait for 3+ hours to donate. if you call your local red cross, they will call you back and set up a time for you to come in later, when the blood supply begins to drop a bit. also, if you are donating money, look to see if a local business is offering matching funds. this is the best way to ensure your funds do the most good. if you dont have money to donate, take drinks and food to volunteers at the red cross, or firefighters or your local military base. look them in the eyes and say thank you. Father, i pray for the hearts and minds of those who are missing family and friends today and in the days to come. i ask that You would lay Your hand on their hearts and give them peace and comfort in only the way You can. help them feel Your presence, Lord, and enfold them in Your arms that they may take solace in Your strength. to those injured in the hospital, i ask You to lay Your healing hands upon them, Father. You are the Great Healer and we need Your guidance and Your strength to be with them. fill their bodies with Your breath that they might continue to breathe and live and keep the will to survive. Holy Father, i ask for the leaders of our country that You keep their ears tuned to Your guidance. Lord, lead them with temperance and righteousness, not rage and fear. Father, keep them safe and give them comfort and guidance in these dark hours ahead. i thank You for the many blessings You have bestowed upon us already. the Holy Spirit has moved through the nation at an amazing rate, inspiring acts of heroism and self-sacrifice . please continue to give us the strength to fight to keep our faith, our hope, our love, our way of life. i come before You, a humble servant in the name of Christ. amen. < -- > |
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