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 From the Ashes of Our Pain, A Nobler Future Will Arise
by ROBERT ZIMMER, JR.
Thursday, September 13, 2001
LOS ANGELES, CA.
As the dust settles and our nation slowly emerges from its grief-stricken stupor, our clarity of purpose returns. But we must aim not just to rebuild and return to our fast-paced status-quo. We must examine ourselves, and what we truly stand for, so we may construct a nobler future. Not just for ourselves, but for all peoples, of all races, who embrace the cause of freedom.
Let us look past our pain for a moment.
Let us look closely at what the terrorists hoped to achieve. They wanted to kill, surely, but worse, they wanted to hurt and make us afraid. They wanted to bring out our hatred and anger. In short, they wanted to make us sink to their level. They wanted to drag us into the cesspool of darkness that motivates their lives. But no force is capable of such an ugly feat.
America's foundation of justice is stronger than any evil.
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This photo was taken last Christmas, from the
restaurant at the top of the World Trade Center.
The photographer, Stacey Turtell, calls it "A Toast to NYC."
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No, America is not a perfect nation. We have a history replete with examples of darkness, but the majority of our history shows us to be full of light. We have been, and still are, a beacon of hope, of freedom, and of opportunity.
These terrorists have failed at their objectives. America has come together in a remarkable display of unity, charity, and humanity. In the midst of horror and fear, Americans have responded in precisely the way that defines courage. Courage is not an absence of fear, but bold action in spite of fear.
Our response to the terrorists must not be out of blind anger. We must not turn on ourselves. We must not lash out at those of Arabic descent or of Muslim faith at home. To do so would only hand the terrorists their ugly victory. Our actions towards each other, and towards the perpetrators of terror, must not be out of hatred, racial or otherwise. It must be out of a deliberate, quietly self-assured sense of justice. When we strike, it must be to set things right, not to spread more wrong. When we strike, it must be to send a message. The message must be clear. A civilized people will not tolerate the mass murder of innocent people, no matter the rationale.
The day is here where we must no longer permit hatred and murder simply because it is cloaked in the justification of religion. Those who twist spiritual texts to their own hideous ends must no longer be coddled, at home or abroad. To those extremist Muslims who celebrate the events of September 11, 2001, and are drunk on the blood lust of their holy wars, we say to you now: Your time is at an end. The Holy Lands of the Middle East are just that, holy. They are for all peoples, regardless of religion, to share in peace and mutual respect. This self-evident truth shall persevere, and we shall dedicate ourselves to it.
Just as our nation once marshaled its resources to stop the rampant evil of Adolf Hitler, America will muster its mighty forces to eradicate those who perpetrate violent terror as a weapon of bigotry. Our current cause is no less serious, no less grave, than our cause in World War II. There is no clear single face of the enemy now, in 2001, but this should not deter us, and it will not.
For those who perished in Washington, D.C., and New York City, your loss will not be in vain. As U2 eloquently said in a 1985 song about the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., "They took your life, but they could not take your pride." Our nation stands proud. We will look inside and find the noblest parts of ourselves, and go boldy forward, to create a better world from the rubble of September 11.
ROBERT ZIMMER, Jr., IS A FILM AND TELEVISION WRITER/PRODUCER LIVING IN LOS ANGELES, CA. |
 Send your comments to Coffee Shop Times editorial observer Robert Zimmer, Jr.
Copyright © 2001 The Coffee Shop Times
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