To: Patrick E.McDaniel who wrote (166906 ) 9/11/2001 6:24:00 PM From: stockman_scott Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 176387 Some interesting commentary... World of beauty, mystery dashed in mad stroke By Chuck Green Denver Post Columnist Saturday, August 11, 2001 - Humanity turned into horror today as untold hundreds or thousands of lives were claimed in what was certain to become the deadliest terrorist attack in history, hitting at the very nerve centers of American commerce and national defense. Any soul with a sense of compassion found it nearly incomprehensible to measure the immense loss of life, the extraordinary depth of suffering, the seemingly endless extent of grief that came crashing down on the streets of New York City this morning. As hundreds of emergency crews tried to rescue and comfort the injured, they, too, were buried in the falling debris. What has mankind wrought? The enormous ashen cloud of dust, created by man's darkest side, rose in stark contrast against the crystal blue sky, created by the most wondrous forces of nature. The world, so full of beauty and mystery, was in a moment turned ugly and cruel by man. Despite the billions of people who seek to live in peace and harmony, from remote villages in equatorial jungles to icy hamlets above the Arctic Circle, from vineyards in France to rice paddies in China, from factories in Pittsburgh to boutiques in Paris, people go about their daily lives trying to provide for their families, fulfill their opportunities and be decent members of the human race. But the evil forces of hate and anger and resentment and jealousy tear at the fabric of their lives, denying the peace and serenity that should be their reward. What has mankind wrought? Civilization has reached its pinnacle in billions of years of evolution, yet tribal brutality still holds us hostage. High-tech progress and stem-cell research and marvelous accomplishments in literature and science and theology and architecture and agriculture have not brought us insight into the human soul. We have conquered the depths of the oceans and the mysteries distant galaxies, but we haven't fully explored the human heart. We know scientifically what makes the heart pump, and we can replicate it with machines, and we can repair it to health, and we can transplant it from one to another - but we don't understand the disease that eats at its humanity. Mankind has accomplished so many wondrous things, but we cannot overcome the natural instincts of hate. We have a murderous nature among us, like a virus spreading through cyberspace, that defies our technology and psychiatry. Religious wars still rage on the Earth. Political genocide grips nations in fear. Terrorism cheats all of us of security. Public buildings and houses of worship are under heavy guard in many parts of the world, but even the most highly protected edifices are vulnerable and penetrable. The destruction and carnage unleashed today seem unbelievable, even as we see the evidence so dramatically flashing across our television screens. Yet it is undeniable that some human minds not only are capable of conceiving such horrific acts, some human hearts are capable of executing those thoughts into action. What has mankind wrought?denverpost.com