Remembering 9/11

I purposely did not write anything about 9/11 yesterday. There was plenty being written/talked about by people way smarter than me, and sometimes I feel things like that are sometimes best left to themselves. But a good friend of mine (Ron) posted this on his Facebook status:

As important as it is to remember what happened on September 11th, it is perhaps of even greater importance to remember why it happened. If we forget whatever lessons may have been learned we will be destined to experience that same tragedy - or greater - again.

I thought that was well-put. Of course, right away someone left a comment that they had no idea what he was talking about. I believe that proved his point right there.

Please understand, I am not condoning or sympathizing with terrorists or terrorist activity or anything of the like. And I don't claim to know or understand what was really behind the events of 9/11. To many people though - whether they were militant, terrorist Muslims, or just your run-of-the-mill Muslims; and in some respects many foreigners (non-USA) in general - what happened on 9/11 was a reaction against America... the arrogance, pride, and immorality.

I know that's hard for us Americans to hear, but it's hard to argue against if we could actually look at ourselves objectively. Just last night I attended a minor league baseball game in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It's the heart of the Midwest.... farm country.... and it was "dollar beer night." People were acting stupid. A woman sitting next to us was just a little too old and a little too large for her tight jeans seemed intent on showing everyone her underwear, while wearing a Miller Lite box on her head for a hat. People walked around with no consideration for those near them. They shot off the regular wad of fireworks afterward that cost I-have-no-idea how much. Grown men were fighting over foul balls. People were yelling the f-word right in front of grandma and little children, and didn't care one bit when someone suggested they stop. And that's just one night, in one small city, at one ballpark. Look at our billboards, our tv shows, movies, magazines; listen to the radio, conversations at water coolers, on the internet, outbursts by congressmen at Presidential speeches! And this is to say nothing of the news. What are we concerned about; what have we become?

We don't have to condone acts of terrorism to admit that our society is messed up. And, heck, I don't even have to get political - though I certainly could.

So, by all means, we should remember the lives of those lost on 9/11; remember their family members. Certainly there was much suffering and heart-ache. But let's remember what precipitated those events as well. We could stand to change some things not just in this country, but even right in our own lives. Perhaps a commitment to morality and ethics; a return to living by the Golden Rule; more empathy and concern for the welfare of others. And, as I read somewhere (maybe Ed Stetzer said this), we don't need more judgment, we need more Jesus. Rather than just remembering how we responded to the events that took place that day, what if we spent some time in prayer considering how we may have contributed to what led to those events as well. And this is to say nothing of all the innocent lives that were taken AFTER 9/11. May God help us all.

Peace out; and in.