May God Bless us all
Deacon Art
September 2001
from the desk of
Bill Green
Never Be The Same
Dear friends. . .
Although I have thought long and hard on the
issue at hand (that being the terrible tragedy that occurred last Tuesday), and
its impact on me, I realize that a response leaves me vulnerable to the
judgment of others.
Yet, with the constant barrage from so many who
seem to share a singular point of view of rage, hatred, and revenge, I, too,
feel that it is necessary for this one voice to be heard as well...
As deeply saddened as I am by last Tuesday's
tragedy, a sadness that seems to deepen with each passing day, I struggle with
the underlying message that has surfaced from the media ever since – that
message being that this country will never be the same as a result of
last Tuesday's unimaginable act of violence and subsequent grief that has
followed.
Whereas it is undeniably true that, for me,
things will never be the same, the question that keeps rattling around
in my brain, and from that deep place of sadness in my heart, is what, then,
for me will be different?
What am I willing to change?
Will I look more deeply than ever to realize the
many privileges of living in such a land as America
Will I therefore look upon my brethren –
African-American, Arab-American, Asian-American, European-American,
Jewish-American, Mexican-American, Native-American – Christian, Buddhist,
Hebrew, Muslim – and all the many other cultures, races, and religions, far too
many to name, as equal parts of a greater whole called humankind?
Or, will I seek to justify hatred, when loving
forgiveness demands too much from my finite soul? Will I ask what can be done
to heal this gaping wound inflicted upon my country – a country that has oft
times invisibilized me – as opposed to asking what must be done to inflict more
wounds, while knowing fully well that my world as I know it is already so
overwhelmed with a grief that will never heal?
Will I seek Divine guidance as I search the
innermost regions of my vulnerable heart to try and try to understand the
impossible, as well as the unforgivable?
Will I justify vengeance, blindly, under the
guise of God?
Will I take it upon myself to recall the
devastation's dealt out by my country during my brief lifetime – the atom bomb,
Viet Nam
Or will I take it upon myself to confront the
limitations of a human heart such as mine that will be tempted to say, Oh,
well, that's different...?
Will I love differently that which I don't
understand?
Or will I allow my cultural ignorance's to
remain my personal justifications to continue to treat those unlike myself as
if they don't exist?
Will I become an advocate for harmony in diversity?
Or will I once again succumb to the hollow cry
of, America
Will I teach my children to love in ways that I
never thought of before last Tuesday?
Or will I self-justifiably condemn a whole
people for the acts of a faceless circle of hatred? And will I then place the
faces of the seen on the circle of those unseen and call my
revenge justified?
What I do know is that I hurt -- I hurt for the
innocent, and for the unknown faces of those who are left to make sense of all
of this, as well as for those who have departed -- those souls that although I
have never met, I grieve for as if they were my own. . .
When I seek to respond to the comment that
things will never be the same, I can only hope that, for me, this is true.
Because I dread to think that I would stay the same, and would therefore become
a willing member of a silent party to this frozen moment in history repeating
itself. . .
I hope that, with the guidance of my God, I will
find the courage to search my soul and be willing to do what will be required
of me NOT to stay the same... And to do all I can to ask the same from
all those living souls that I encounter along the way. . .
Bill
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