Fw. WE AMERICANS

[Wimblees@AOL.COM]

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I received this from a friend. As with Jim, I will let this be my final=20
contribution to our discussion about the tragedy. In retrospect, I think=20
discussing this has been very helpful for me, as I hope it has been for all=20
of you, to vent my anger, to show my respect, to express my concern, and to=20
bear my sorrows. I will NEVER forget this day, but I, as do you, have to go=20
on with my life.
=20
Peace, Hope, Prayer, and Love. =20

Wim


> Subject: WE AMERICANS
>=20
> Published Wednesday, September 12, 2001
> WE=E2=80=99LL GO FORWARD FROM THIS MOMENT
> by Leonard Pitts
> It's my job to have something to say. They pay me to provide words that=20
> help make sense of that which troubles the American soul. But in this=20
> moment of airless shock when hot tears sting disbelieving eyes, the only=20
> thing I can find to say, the only words that seem to fit, must be addresse=
d=20
> to the unknown author of this suffering.
> You monster. You beast. You unspeakable bastard. What lesson did you hope=20
> to teach us by your coward's attack on our World Trade Center, our=20
> Pentagon, us?
> What was it you hoped we would learn? Whatever it was, please know that yo=
u=20
> failed.  Did you want us to respect your cause?  You just damned your=20
> cause. Did you want to make us fear?  You just steeled our resolve. Did yo=
u=20
> want to tear us apart? You just brought us together.
> Let me tell you about my people. We are a vast and quarrelsome family, a=20
> family rent by racial, social, political and class division, but a family=20
> nonetheless. We're frivolous, yes, capable of expending tremendous=20
> emotional energy on pop cultural minutiae -- a singer's revealing dress, a=
=20
> ball team's misfortune, a cartoon mouse.
> We're wealthy, too, spoiled by the ready availability of trinkets and=20
> material goods, and maybe because of that, we walk through life with a=20
> certain sense of blithe entitlement. We are fundamentally decent, though -=
-=20
> peace-loving and compassionate. We struggle to know the right thing and to=
=20
> do it. And we are, the overwhelming majority of us, people of faith,=20
> believers in a just and loving God.
> Some people -- you, perhaps -- think that any or all of this makes usweak.=
=20
> You're mistaken. We are not weak.  Indeed, we are strong in ways that=20
> cannot be measured by arsenals.
> IN PAIN
> Yes, we're in pain now. We are in mourning and we are in shock. We're stil=
l=20
> grappling with the unreality of the awful thing you did, still working to=20
> make ourselves understand that this isn't a special effect from some=20
> Hollywood blockbuster, isn't the plot development from a Tom Clancy novel.
> Both in terms of the awful scope of their ambition and the probable final=20
> death toll, your attacks are likely to go down as the worst acts of=20
> terrorismin the history of the United States and, probably, the history of=
=20
> the world.
> You've bloodied us as we have never been bloodied before.  But there's a=20
> gulf of difference between making us bloody and making us fall. This is th=
e=20
> lesson Japan was taught to its bitter sorrow the last time anyone hit us=20
> this hard, the last time anyone brought us such abrupt and monumental pain=
.
> When roused, we are righteous in our outrage, terrible in our force. When=20
> provoked by this level of barbarism, we will bear any suffering, pay any=20
> cost, go to any length, in the pursuit of justice.
> I tell you this without fear of contradiction. I know my people, as you,I=20
> think, do not. What I know reassures me. It also causes me to tremble with=
=20
> dread of the future.=20
> In the days to come, there will be recrimination and accusation, fingers=20
> pointing to determine whose failure allowed this to happen and what can be=
=20
> done to prevent it from happening again. There will be heightened security=
,=20
> misguided talk of revoking basic freedoms. We'll go forward from this=20
> moment sobered, chastened, sad. But determined, too. unimaginably=20
> determined.
> THE STEEL IN US
> You see, the steel in us is not always readily apparent. That aspect of ou=
r=20
> character is seldom understood by people who don't know us well. On this=20
> day, the family's bickering is put on hold. As Americans we will weep, as=20
> Americans we will mourn, and as Americans, we will rise in defense of all=20
> that we cherish.
> So I ask again: What was it you hoped to teach us?  It occurs to me that=20
> maybe you just wanted us to know the depths of your hatred.   If that's th=
e=20
> case, consider the message received.  And take this message in exchange:=20
> You don't know my people. You don't know what we're capable of. You don't=20
> know what you just started. But you're about to learn.
> (This was written by Miami-Herald Columnist Leonard Pitts, an African=20
> American)
>=20
>=20




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Subject: Fw: Fw: Fw: WE AMERICANS
Date: Sat, 15 Sep 2001 16:18:47 -0500
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