More on Harry Waizer, from the his statement to the Nat’l Commission (2003)

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May 022011
 

I have no rage about what happened on 9/11, only a deep sadness for the many innocent, worthy lives lost and the loved ones who lost so much that day. There have always been madmen, perhaps there always will be. They must be stopped, but with the cold detachment reserved by a surgeon for removing a cancer. They are not worthy of my rage. Neither do I feel anger at those who arguably could have foreseen, and thereby prevented, the tragedies. If there were mistakes, they were the mistakes of complacency, a complacency in which we all shared.

This commission can not turn back the hands of time. There is nothing to be gained by asserting blame, by pointing fingers. The dead will remain dead despite this commission’s best efforts and intentions. But it is my hope that this commission can learn and teach us from its scrutiny of the past, and if the findings of this commission can prevent even one future 9/11, if they can forestall even one plan of Osama bin Laden, prevent even one more act of madness and horror, I and the rest of this nation will owe the commission our gratitude, and I will be proud of the small part I was allowed to play today.

via 9-11commission.gov

May we all be as compassionate and courageous as Mr. Waizer. This statement was made approximately 10 days after the US went to war with Iraq, if my memory is correct.

It’s not often I quote a Catholic minister, but…

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May 022011
 

Hayes says: “We are called to forgiveness. And that is the only way that we can be truly free. Holding onto our hatred keeps us in slavery to bin Laden’s madness and gives the terrorists continued power over us.”

There is also a sense of false elation, he adds, “because many believe that the world is a safer place because of this death. That relief is probably misguided.”

via npr.org

Not only a sense of false elation, but a sense of false security, I might add. Later in the article the point is made that these public displays of jubilation might only add to the danger. A former FBI special agent says, “The reasons they hate us have not subsided, and this could reinvigorate things.”

Hatred begets hatred. Darkness fought with darkness does not bring light. Forgiveness *is* liberating. Once you’ve experienced these truths, you can’t un-know them. Perhaps the problem is that not enough of us have experienced these things?