September 11
Something that happened yesterday (September 10) made me think more about the significance of September 11 than I normally do on its anniversary.
I am doing a bit of work for my previous (non-freelance) employer and while I was in the halls I ran into a former colleague. Her daughter is spending her junior year abroad, in an English-speaking country, yet she was frantic with worry about her until the daughter called to say that all was well. This woman's older child told her that she was worrying to much, but she thought there was plenty to worry about. When I mentioned that I hadn't particularly worried about my high-school-age daughter being on a 3-month trip to India in high school (12 students, 3 teachers), this woman said, "But they could have covered her with a burka and you might never have seen her again." She was clearly petrified.
I was not. Not because I do not love my child. Because I do, deeply. I am so happy that she is enjoying college and has found a place where she feels she can fully be herself. If something were to happen to her, I would be grief-stricken.
But if we let ourselves be overcome with fear and anxiety, then the terrorists have won. They have done exactly what they wanted to do--create terror. We defeat terror when we live by the values this country was founded on--the belief that all men (and women) are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, and among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Liberty and the pursuit of happiness are what give life meaning. When we show that we are not afraid--not because we do not know better, but because we will not let fear be the driving force in our lives--then we show the value of democracy.
Every day, whether we know it or not, we risk our lives. Not because of terrorists, but because of an accidental situation, the weather, or some physiological flaw we do not know we have. We are mortal. Whether you believe in an afterlife or not, at the moment, thisright-here-right-now is all we've got for the moment. Why not embrace it and accept that the world is neither a wonderful place, nor a place that is out to get us. It is as it is.
Or, if you want the same thought in fewer words, there's always FDR's, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself."
Peace and joy to you all.
I am doing a bit of work for my previous (non-freelance) employer and while I was in the halls I ran into a former colleague. Her daughter is spending her junior year abroad, in an English-speaking country, yet she was frantic with worry about her until the daughter called to say that all was well. This woman's older child told her that she was worrying to much, but she thought there was plenty to worry about. When I mentioned that I hadn't particularly worried about my high-school-age daughter being on a 3-month trip to India in high school (12 students, 3 teachers), this woman said, "But they could have covered her with a burka and you might never have seen her again." She was clearly petrified.
I was not. Not because I do not love my child. Because I do, deeply. I am so happy that she is enjoying college and has found a place where she feels she can fully be herself. If something were to happen to her, I would be grief-stricken.
But if we let ourselves be overcome with fear and anxiety, then the terrorists have won. They have done exactly what they wanted to do--create terror. We defeat terror when we live by the values this country was founded on--the belief that all men (and women) are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, and among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Liberty and the pursuit of happiness are what give life meaning. When we show that we are not afraid--not because we do not know better, but because we will not let fear be the driving force in our lives--then we show the value of democracy.
Every day, whether we know it or not, we risk our lives. Not because of terrorists, but because of an accidental situation, the weather, or some physiological flaw we do not know we have. We are mortal. Whether you believe in an afterlife or not, at the moment, thisright-here-right-now is all we've got for the moment. Why not embrace it and accept that the world is neither a wonderful place, nor a place that is out to get us. It is as it is.
Or, if you want the same thought in fewer words, there's always FDR's, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself."
Peace and joy to you all.