From: Anand (trans_humanism@msn.com)
Date: Wed Sep 11 2002 - 11:22:14 MDT
http://www.livejournal.com/talkread.bml?itemid=437161&journal=vyoma
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Written by Bhairavan
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September 11: Enough Day
Dubya, 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.
You know, personally I think this just stinks to hell. 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 Mai 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.
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