MONTHLY THEME SEPTEMBER 2007

As another patriot day comes and goes, I am struck by the fact that we seem to be frozen in a state of shock. A condition of post traumatic stress syndrome as it were. We mourn for those lost 6 years ago, argue about the way in which the reaction to the ignorant actions of absolute insane maniacs was handled and is still being handled, and we debate about the motives and reasoning behind the continuing festering hatred of humanity against itself. We measure our successes and failures now against the backdrop of 911 and we resonate with the shared hurt and anger over the fact that it happened.

Most Americans still wouldn't know the holiday “patriot day” as the anniversary of the twin towers destruction, but every American and most probably, every person on Earth would know about that terrible day in history. What does that say about where we are now, and where we are headed? If we could look back and say, that was a day that we remember, and we have grown and learned and moved on it would say one thing. Unfortunately we can't do that. We look at the 3000+ lives lost that day, and we compound it with another 3000+ lives lost in the service men and women who dedicate and sacrifice their lives to our cause. We compound it with the ten's of thousands of lives lost in “collateral damage” or innocent victims of hate filled morons. We hear about the war between good and evil (each side claiming that the other side is evil of course) every day, and we see the effects of the lingering and growing expanse of this lunacy constantly.

What does it mean to be a patriot, and what are the ideals of that patriotism that we should celebrate? I believe that the key we should remember this, and every patriot day is that tolerance for the peaceful expression of our religious beliefs is what we are built on, and that any non-peaceful expression of religious belief is what we are against. Let us unite in a world wide day of peace and celebrate the UN's declaration of Human Rights and manifest Heaven on Earth.http://www.internationaldayofpeace.org/

In Jesus way, Amen, Amen, and Amen.