Return to Home PageEDITORIAL
As The Evangelist goes to press, President George W. Bush is following that guidance. Despite the horrors visited upon the nation and the understandable rage that followed them, he has not responded with blind violence. He has asked for patience from Americans, who seem entirely willing to grant it. The nation's elongated mourning period no doubt has contributed to this forbearance. We hope that another ingredient is the recognition that it is our enemies who must be dealt with, not innocent people, a distinction that takes time to establish.
Accompanying this editorial is the striking and haunting photograph of crying Afghan children, packed into a cart to flee to Pakistan with their family, all of them in the grip of vivid fears over what they face as a result of the terrorists' atrocities. These children must not become the victims of our response.
Many people have correctly said that "nothing will be the same after Sept. 11." None of us knows precisely what that difference will be, but all of us hold the power to contribute positively to what is to come. Many horrid moments alter our lives in powerful and lasting ways: a spouse dies, a friend betrays us, a job is lost, cancer is found. Our response to such powerful events can lead to our becoming weak, demoralized and lost; or it can result in our becoming more mature persons who cultivate a deeper understanding of ourselves, others and the world, and who reaffirm our own values and beliefs.
We stand both as a nation and as individuals at such a crossroads in time. We can turn into timid, distrustful and vengeful people. Or we can choose to be more united as a nation, becoming more aware of and responsive to the poor of the world, and more involved in social justice, politics and our faith.
There are already signs of the last. Some tragedies can hammer a wedge between God and us. We moan, "How could you allow this?" and question whether God is really loving. But other horrors -- and the Sept. 11 attacks are an instance -- propel us closer to God, inspire us to pray more sincerely, help us look at who we are more profoundly, and deepen the connections between us and our Creator. Examples of this have abounded over the past two weeks: solemn public prayers, funerals for the victims, more people in churches, even the simple kindness of strangers toward each other.
In the wake of Sept. 11, we have choices. The fugitive children ask: "What will you become?" How we answer will go a long way toward determining how our future -- and theirs -- will be different.