International
Enough Day
Author
Unknown
I
received this from an American friend of many years. Wonder if this is a
reflection of the majority or a minority? Food for thought, anyway.
George
W. Bush, acting upon a joint resolution of Congress, has declared
September 11 to be Patriot Day. According to his proclamation, we're
supposed to "...observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and
activities..." and to "...display the flag at half-staff from
their homes and observe a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. EDT," this
in honor of the Americans who died in the terrorist attack.
I
have a better idea, so I'm making a proclamation of my own, which of
course is completely unendorsed by any US politicians I'm aware of.
I'm
declaring September 11 "International Enough Day."
Enough
flag-waving, enough violence, enough nationalism. Enough already.
September 11 was not an American tragedy, it was a human tragedy. It was a
tragedy not just for the people in the US who died, but for every innocent
person killed as a result of the US reaction to the attacks as well. It
was a tragedy for the human spirit, regardless of nationality, religion,
and anything else.
On
September 11, let's say "Enough." No more killing.
Let's remember not only the victims of the hijacked airplanes in
the US, but of the embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998. Let's
remember all the Israelis killed by Palestinian bombers and all the
Palestinians killed by Israeli troops. Let's remember all the innocent
people slain by Union Carbide in Bhopal, India in 1984. Let's take the day
to contemplate the people who've been victims of genocidal warfare in
Africa, and the ones who've starved to death because of political games as
well. Let's remember the victims of the Holocaust and of the firebombing
of Dresden, too. Let's not forget those who were slain in the My Lai
Massacre.
Instead
of waving the flag of one nation and thinking only about our own dead,
let's make September 11 a day to remember all the people who've died at
the hands of someone else's political agenda through no fault of their
own, and let's say enough. We should stand up and disavow this, no matter
what country we're in, no matter what religion we are, no matter our
political affiliation or status or race or anything else.
If
we had a moment of silence marking the time of every atrocity ever
committed in the name of nationalism, religion... every atrocity committed
in the name of the artificial borders that try to make us forget that
we're all human, all in this together, all fragile creatures whose lives
can be snuffed out in an instant through no fault of our own... then we
would never speak again. So we here in America should, I think, observe
September 11 as the day when the nightmares that humans around the world
have been living with for decades came lumbering ashore on the East Coast
of the US. We should see it for what it is; the day the US truly
experienced the horror that rings like a bell around the globe, from South
America to the Middle East to Micronesia, the day we joined the human race
at a most profound and fundamental level.
There
should be no "Patriot Day," no day to further emphasize that
we're different. Instead, let's say "Enough." Enough of putting
the interests of any one nation above the interests of the human race.
Enough dwelling on our small differences. Enough killing each other over
them. Enough hate, enough fear, enough hunger, enough violence, enough
bombing, enough enough enough ENOUGH.
We
should each find our own way of expressing this. A moment of silence... or
perhaps a day of silence. Meditation, art, whatever it is that you do...
do it. Take the day to celebrate the lives of all of us -- wherever we're
from and whatever we believe -- who are still here, and think on those --
wherever they were, whenever they were and whatever they were -- who
weren't so lucky. Take the day to remember the fragility of human life and
all the nightmares wrought by those who wanted to impose their will upon
the whole of humanity. Commit no act of violence, however small.
Let
go of any hatred and prejudice and thirst for revenge and, for one day,
see yourself in the other and the other in yourself. Do whatever you do,
and do it to say ENOUGH.
Peace.
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