I Received This From An Si Member Who Asked Me To Post It.
International Enough Day
Subject: FW: International Enough Day
I received this from an American friend of many years. Wonder if this is a
reflection of the majority or a minority? Food for thought, anyway.
George W. Bush, acting upon a joint resolution of Congress, has
declared September 11 to be Patriot Day. According to his
proclamation, we're supposed to "...observe this day with
appropriate ceremonies and activities..." and to "...display the flag
at half-staff from their homes and observe a moment of silence
at 8:46 a.m. EDT," this in honor of the Americans who died in the
terrorist attack.
I have a better idea, so I'm making a proclamation
of my own, which of course is completely unendorsed by any US
politicians I'm aware of.
I'm declaring September 11 "International Enough Day."
Enough flag-waving, enough violence, enough nationalism. Enough already.
September 11 was not an American tragedy, it was a human tragedy. It
was a tragedy not just for the people in the US who died, but for
every innocent person killed as a result of the US reaction to the
attacks as well. It was a tragedy for the human spirit, regardless
of nationality, religion, and anything else.
On September 11, let's say "Enough." No more killing. Let's
remember not only the victims of the hijacked airplanes in the US, but of
the embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998. Let's remember all
the Israelis killed by Palestinian bombers and all the Palestinians
killed by Israeli troops. Let's remember all the innocent people
slain by Union Carbide in Bhopal, India in 1984. Let's take the day
to contemplate the people who've been victims of genocidal warfare
in Africa, and the ones who've starved to death because of political
games as well. Let's remember the victims of the Holocaust and of
the firebombing of Dresden, too. Let's not forget those who were
slain in the My Lai Massacre.
Instead of waving the flag of one nation and thinking only about our
own dead, let's make September 11 a day to remember all the people
who've died at the hands of someone else's political agenda through
no fault of their own, and let's say enough. We should stand up and
disavow this, no matter what country we're in, no matter what
religion we are, no matter our political affiliation or status or
race or anything else. If we had a moment of silence marking the
time of every atrocity ever committed in the name of nationalism,
religion... every atrocity committed in the name of the artificial
borders that try to make us forget that we're all human, all in this
together, all fragile creatures whose lives can be snuffed out in an
instant through no fault of our own... then we would never speak
again. So we here in America should, I think, observe September 11
as the day when the nightmares that humans around the world have
been living with for decades came lumbering ashore on the East Coast
of the US. We should see it for what it is; the day the US truly
experienced the horror that rings like a bell around the globe, from
South America to the Middle East to Micronesia, the day we joined
the human race at a most profound and fundamental level.
There should be no "Patriot Day," no day to further
emphasize that we're different. Instead, let's say "Enough." Enough of
putting the interests of any one nation above the interests of the human
race.
Enough dwelling on our small differences. Enough killing each other
over them. Enough hate, enough fear, enough hunger, enough violence,
enough bombing, enough enough enough ENOUGH.
We should each find our own way of expressing this. A moment of
silence... or perhaps a day of silence. Meditation, art, whatever it
is that you do... do it. Take the day to celebrate the lives of all
of us -- wherever we're from and whatever we believe -- who are
still here, and think on those -- wherever they were, whenever they
were and whatever they were -- who weren't so lucky. Take the day to
remember the fragility of human life and all the nightmares wrought
by those who wanted to impose their will upon the whole of humanity.
Commit no act of violence, however small.
Let go of any hatred and prejudice and thirst for revenge and, for
one day, see yourself in the other and the other in yourself. Do
whatever you do, and do it to say ENOUGH.
Peace. |
