Chiff and Fipple Forums

Amazing Grace? Good idea in memoriam and a good theme, as I guess we all know it.

I'll play it to-day--as I already played an Andean tune for the 30th Anniversary of the Sept. 11, 1973 coup in Chile, and the death of Salvador Allende. As to the exact number of victims, we'll never know, but figure it's in the five digits.

I guess the CIA should make 9/11 its yearly anniversary, since it's both the date of one of its dubious "triumphs" and ultimate failures.

Death is universal, and the experience of it connects us, world over and regardless of our beliefs and goals. I appreciate the rememberance of tragic death as a call to all of us to stop killing and to reason against the lies that may lead one person to kill another. The horror of 9/11 and the human tragedy of that day and the subsequent retribution for it should make us all pause and think on the fundamental human aspects that connect us all. It should not be the rallying cry for the next round of killing, no matter of whom by whom. And that's how I understand your original request, madguy, as a call to rememberance, which I honor and respect.

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madguy wrote:Wrong, Jim. The "wing" of Islam that those "people" represented believe that the entire world should be Islamic.

I cannot tell you how much this scares me: those "people". The de-humanization of the opponent, the exclusion of the perceived foe from the fundamental human community and the ranking of the foe with the animals or something less-than-human, has occured many, many times in history. And it always as a prelude to slaughter, murder, and horror. (I don't want to list the historic precedents, not today.)

jim_mc wrote:You're right, James. I apologize. I get blinded sometimes by my frustration at the unending violence in this world.

No problem, Jim. You're a good guy...

We may not always agree, but I do always respect the depth of thought and conviction you display. In a world grown cold, where so many people Simply Don't Care, it is welcome to encounter someone who has at least paid their dues and knows--as much as anyone can--why they believe and think as they do.

--James

well it's pretty much a given that the US gov't would go bonkers after that attack. Seriously, just look what happened after Pearl Harbor. Which Japanese military officer was it who said "we have awoken a sleeping giant" or something of that nature? And look what they got: two bombs. What exactly did bin Ladin et al. expect anyhow? Anyone who acts even slightly surprised or appaled by the reaction of the U.S. gov't to this is just naive and I guarantee you that those terrorists knew for a fact that they were dooming the middle east to open warfar with the U.S. for years when they did that.

Larry, thanks for raising a topic for rememberance,


Reflections, Two Years Passed.

Paused
to remember
this morn
2 years ago,
innocents lost.

Contributions to life's abundance,
cut short.

Father, son,
Mother, daughter,
Brother, sister,
Grand-parent, grandchild,
Niece, Nephew,
Aunt, uncle,
Christian, Jew, Moslem, Hindu,
Conservative, liberal,
Hawk, dove,
Friend, Neighbor,
Acquantance, stranger seen only in passing.

Today, remembering
the loss.

Life surely grows, continues,
and, just as surely,
has no guarantee.

Today commit
to live and let live.
To press into today
a full measure
of life,
To fill the cup
that emptied
two years ago.

In rememberance,
finding heart,
to build,
all those things
that might make
such losses
into stories found
only in antiquity.


Heartsong of hope that let all ...

Lee, that's beautiful. May I copy it and save it in a file?

~Larry

madguy wrote:Lee, that's beautiful. May I copy it and save it in a file?

~Larry

Of course! I wrote it to share and for any to take to heart however they wish. I find writing helps me focus, when I'm confused or trying to balance the internal maelstrom that arises from events, such as those that occured two years ago. I have enough fuzziness on my face, don't need it in thoughts too. Focus lets me better define the melody of life and enjoy the music found.

Thank you, sir. I wish I could look at life and events with your perspective, especially now that I'm approaching the "September" of my life.

~Larry

Wow, Lee, that's beautiful.

Bloomfield wrote:Death is universal, and the experience of it connects us, world over and regardless of our beliefs and goals. I appreciate the rememberance of tragic death as a call to all of us to stop killing and to reason against the lies that may lead one person to kill another. The horror of 9/11 and the human tragedy of that day and the subsequent retribution for it should make us all pause and think on the fundamental human aspects that connect us all. It should not be the rallying cry for the next round of killing, no matter of whom by whom. And that's how I understand your original request, madguy, as a call to rememberance, which I honor and respect.
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madguy wrote:Wrong, Jim. The "wing" of Islam that those "people" represented believe that the entire world should be Islamic.

I cannot tell you how much this scares me: those "people". The de-humanization of the opponent, the exclusion of the perceived foe from the fundamental human community and the ranking of the foe with the animals or something less-than-human, has occured many, many times in history. And it always as a prelude to slaughter, murder, and horror. (I don't want to list the historic precedents, not today.)

Amen, Bloo. You've expressed my feelings perfectly.

Susan

Lee:

I wish I had your gift for words. We here at C&F are lucky to have you.

Thanks

Larry

Thanks for the original thought. I won't justify the attempts to hijack the thread for personal axe-grinding with further comment.

I've already played my dirges today, but I suspect I will one more time before I sleep.

Knock, knock. Is this the political thread?

When I think about 9/11, I think about all of those people who died for no reason other than they showed up for work. I think about all the orphaned children. Oddly enough, one of the most amazing commentaries on the whole thing, for me at least, came from David Letterman when he did his first show after the attacks. Here's the quote:

"The reason we were attacked, the reason these people are missing and dead, they weren't doing anything wrong. They were living their lives, they were going to work, they were traveling, they were doing what they normally do. As I understand it.....a group of people stole some airplanes and crashed them into buildings. We are told that they were zealots fueled by religious fervor. And if you live to be 1,000 years old, will that make any sense to you? Will that make any goddamn sense?"