It is September 11th, 2011, and once again the painful anniversary of one of the most tragic events in modern North America consumes the mind. The total destruction of the World Trade Center Twin Towers and the loss of thousands of lives in an unprecedented, choreographed attack by extremists remains a terrorist attack unparallelled in the history of the United States. As the bell tolls at Ground Zero and countless names are read once more, it seems nothing must remain unsaid except the truth.
At Incoming Bytes we can only offer condolences and prayers for families that lost loved ones. We can only remember in silence the desperation, fear and confusion on the faces of people watching this horrific event unfold on television--a surreal happening that affected everyone as the news was updated instantly. Terrible images, being played over and over, relentlessly and cruelly destroyed any doubt that remained. We can only relive those terrible moments.
Tears welled up in the eyes of the helpless; anger rose, disbelief overwhelming reason as it became clear the tragedy was not a terrible mistake, not raw television entertainment, but reality. Stunned silence spoke of fear at the shocking transition.
The fact is, the warm, fuzzy illusion of reality and the error of believing in normal life has changed forever as many questions remain unanswered today, ten years later.
What really happened? Why? Where did this evil originate? Was it foreign, home-made, or a tangled web of murder and conspiracy to generate fear? Was it the opening salvo of a war on western civilization as we know it? Was it based on a distorted segment of organized, bitter and unforgiving religious dogma bent on giving notice to the world to convert or die? Was it a declaration of war upon an unjust, unsustainable global economic system? Here at Incoming Bytes The reader is encouraged to make conclusions by observation. Think.
The bottom line increasingly seems to suggest the truth has not yet come out, and is unlikely to be revealed in my lifetime. Each of us in careful reflection must draw our own uniqe bottom line-- and attempt to come to our own conclusions. Media spin, political lies, and distorted fact coupled with willful, evil intent is not helpful in ascertaining truth. Inevitably, the truth must come out as it always does, but meantime, let us collectively mature and admit our true feelings.
The bottom line, then immediately becomes more clear. To me it is based not only on the stark reality of 10 years ago, and the unimaginable event unfolding, but also the strange, unbelievable and terrible contradiction observed in humanity itself.
I must be honest. Ten years later, on this anniversary, I once again reflect in silence, knowing nothing can change the past, yet I remain angry. Why? The bottom line is painfully obvious and very simple. Like the people surrounding me in the waiting room, collectively numbed by the unbelievable horror of the unfolding event before us, I was in the gentle company of wonderful people trying desperately to save the life of a loved one -- in the cancer unit of a hospital-- watching with tears in my eyes---while incomprehensibly arrogant, bitter, devious and evil people secretly rejoiced at the mindless and brutal killing of thousands of innocent people--for nothing. The old adage 'know thyself' comes to mind, and the fact is, I do not know how to accommodate that unfathomable lack of humanity other than by faith in our Lord.
May they be forgiven.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Evil originates outside of God. People like to blame God, but it is misplaced blame. There is no way to understand this present evil because it is illogical. There is no way to understand a mind so indoctrinated or saturated in evil dogma that it would be willing to kill itself and thousands, even millions of others all in the name of evil, under whatever guise. Evil uses religion as a disguise, but that does not mean religion or God is evil. I think this is the mistake people make. I know I might sound religious right now, but the truth is existence is unfathomable to me. I wonder why every day without a satisfactory answer.
ReplyDeleteI watched the whole tragedy unfold on TV with no idea I would be called to "Ground Zero" by one of my customers a few days later. The scene was horrific making it hard to wrap your mind around this act brought on by religious zealots demonstrating the concept that there are many causes of war the worse is when the Sword of Religion is drawn. Evil performed in the Name of God is the worse evil.
ReplyDeleteWhat happened a decade ago with the WTC catastrophe was a shock to not only the American continent, but also the world. While the perpetrators of this ghastly act took great pride in themselves for their achievement, this is nothing short of cowardice. Only an evil coward will bring himself down to such low, underhand and heartless acts such as this. Even this does not fully describe the extent of their crime.
ReplyDeleteIt is a scapegoat tactic to use religion as a means to support one's crime. I second Rachel in her opinion that evil originates outside of God. People who do not know God and the love and light of God, live in darkness. It is a sad fact that they do not know God.
However, while emotions of sorrow, anger, hurt, fear and insecurities surface today, I pray that the God of all ages will comfort those who mourn, wipe the tears of the heartbroken, embrace those who are left alone and bring hope for brighter, safer and a more secure future. There are those who have been survivors from the blast site and have lived through a decade of trauma and nightmares. And I pray for them, that our healing God may heal their emotional and psychological wounds. I also pray for World peace more than ever. My country too faced a similar scene three years ago.... 26/11 (26, Nov) There were five days of continuous terror strike and bomb blasts in Mumbai. It was horrific to watch it even on the TV - live coverage. I cannot imagine what people go through for those who witness it in person. My heart goes out to them.
Was it a declaration of war upon an unjust, unsustainable global economic system?
ReplyDeletea question calling for other questions...under the convenient cloak of religion, screams a deviant response to hardship..there are more people than resources to keep up with personal expectations; a deep imbalance in wellness creates chaos.
when resources are plundered indiscriminately across a busy planet--when conflict is engineered to fit profiteering goals and labor is divided extremely unfairly---people will choose to rebel explosively.
and the results are labeled, classified or covered up to pursue inhumane courses of action against a whole segment of the perceived area of unrest. sometimes the heads of such disastrous plots are hunted and caught, but always, the majority of the common folks bear the brunt of the disruption, damage and death.
may we on this day pray for real infrastructure improvements for the innocent people who had nothing to do with extremist's reactions to a warped financial and commercial system.
the bottom line? is the golden rule in this instance...do unto others as you would have done unto you...healing to the wounded, the traumatized, and all the others as well.
I have to agree totally with each of the above comments. Such horrendous evil most certainly does not come from God. The desperate acts of angry, frustrated fanatics, cowards by any description, -in an attempt to illogically wreak havoc upon a system they neither appreciate, understand or most likely, are angry they do not benefit from -are bad enough without using "religion" as an excuse to murder innocents. Religion is not evil, but the distorted use of organized religious dogma to perpetrate horrific crimes against humanity most certainly is evil and the greatest hypocrisy.
ReplyDeleteThe perpetrators clearly do not know God --as they push aside genuine faith --or they suffer from incorrigible mass delusion.
The Golden Rule is a good one, "do unto others as you would have done unto you" stands everyone in good stead if practiced honestly.
Perhaps that really must BE the bottom line. Justice must be served to civilization within a defined and acceptable balance.
I thank each of you for your insight and valuable comments.
Raymond, all said and done, though anger, sadness, or revenge may surface... I do echo you concluding line, 'may they be forgiven'. This alone differentiates the good from the evil.
ReplyDeleteMandy, your conclusion may well be the REAL bottom line. Thank you for your comments.
ReplyDelete