Editorials

Editor: 

We have the opportunity to turn a very negative series of occurances into something very positive and beautiful...a chance to insure that victims of the Sept. 11 attacks didn’t die in vain. It’s a very simple thing, really. Focus one moment on peace. We’re unfortunately getting accustomed to stopping and devoting a minute or two of silence to mourn, why can’t we do something a little constructive with our grief?  

Yes, we are beyond angry and yes, we are beyond sad. The offenses we are feeling as a nation are still being analyzed, let alone described.  

But here is where we can have our finest hour. While the ruins still smolder and even as the death tolls rise, we can lead this world in an outpouring of something other than vengeance and bloodlust. A desire for true peace.  

These events speak of something more than racial or political blind hatred. Like all wars, they begin with a severe breakdown in communication, a loss of intent to be in coexistence with one another.  

We need a true dialog between all people about all things. We as a world need to grow up and take an honest look around. We’ve made a collective mess of it. Time to clean up our rooms and put up our toys for a while. There is only one planet that we can live upon in this galaxy that we know of...without a lot of technical mumbo jumbo, and this is it.  

Talk of war, vengeance, violence and hatred may feel good for us right now. We need to lick our wounds, we need to not feel powerless. But war is not television or the movies. Real people die. Most treaties are unstable at best when wrought by force. Economies suffer long term when stuck in war-time modes as, after a while, the war must continue in order to feed the nation’s people.  

This is not why we have children. It is good to have national pride, and a healthy sense of survival. It’s perfectly normal to feel anger and the desire to respond in kind. These are very basic, instinctual responses. But they are short term goal oriented, without consideration for long range influences.  

We can learn to do something creative instead of destructive with this complex combination of emotions. Treat the crimes as crimes, seeking the criminals and proving the actions and intents in the World Court. Let a global consensus occur that shows that as a planet, terrorism is an unacceptable form of behavior. But then, do more. Sit down at the table with those who have issues. Listen to one another as human beings, not enemies. See the commonalities beyond the differences. Learn to co-exist. We have the opportunity to transcend...to turn negativity and destruction into a positive outcome. We can move on to global cooperation. Focus on peace, just a few minutes a day.  

Rev. Sister Rosemarie, DSM  

Third Order Disciples of St. Martin de Porres  

San Francisco