I chose to do something different about it. I gave words a rest.
I now remember the ones I had within hours of the unspeakable.
AMERICA UNDER ATTACK. BUT DEMOCRACY MUST BE PROTECTED. (Sept. 11, 2001)
The tragedy that has come to this nation on Sept. 11th, 2001 is nearly unspeakable. It is an attack on our country but not on our democracy. While the tone of previous pieces may seem flippant, it would be a form of attack on our democracy to feel the hesitancy to criticize our government. To find and prosecute the people who are responsible would be justice. But if retaliation is justified in the name of a war on terrorism then we must wakeup. War is already ongoing (freedom and lives are lost daily around the world) and we must be wary of visiting the same atrocities on others. Since collateral damage has been justified in war (wrongly or not), retaliation that includes hasty justice may be guilty of, if not also justifying the same terrible deeds.
[This was written before noon on that day but after doing what was much later recommended by the President: going on with our life, and I saw the flags already at half-staff as I jogged past my local fire station.]
No comments:
Post a Comment