I don't normally have any problems with Louis' musings, although
I will confess I rarely read all of them. But I was a bit
surprised, in the light of the earlier postings to the list,
that there was no reaction to them, which makes me fear a bulk
mailing of this and earlier postings. Are we being spammed folks?

Peter.

Louis_Schmier <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>         After my walk this pre-dawn morning, I sat out by the
fishpond
> enveloped by blissful darkness. It was the total darkness of
the woods
> where everything disappears.  Nevertheless, the darkness
mysteriously
> soothes.  Being sightless, sounds seem to multiply and
heighten.  They
> enhance the dark.  Undistracted mental images sharpen.
>
>         It is Rosh Hashonah.  I didn't have to make the
transition I
> normally make from my head to my heart.  I was already inside
myself.  I
> had gone there a week ago in response to the horrible events in
> Pennsylvania, New York, and Washington. As I sat in synagogue
these past
> two days, I realized that Rosh Hasonah, the Jewish New Year,
comes with a
> great gift:  the opportunity to begin again.  And in a
perverse way,
> because of the terrorists, we Americans have been given the
gift to open a
> new page and it is up to us to decide what the pen of life
will record.
>
>         I and my family have just returned from a grueling zig-
zag trip up
> the east coast to Boston in order to attend the wedding of our
nephew.  We
> had tickets to fly on Friday, didn't think we would make it,
changed them
> to Saturday, didn't think we would make it, changed them from
> Jacksonville-Boston to Atlanta-Providence, left Valdosta at
midnight,
> drove almost fours hours to Atlanta, thought we had made it,
waited in the
> empty airport, found our flights were cancelled, didn't think
we were
> going to make it, got new flights, we and bags were thoroughly
searched,
> passed uniformed and armed air marshals, flew, drove from
Providence to
> Boston, made it, arrived three hours before the wedding--
fifteen tiring
> hours with almost not sleep after we left Valdosta.  On
Monday, we
> zig-zagged by car and plane and car another fourteen hours
back to
> Valdosta.
>
>         I have admit I was feeling a tad uneasy, almost
guilty, about
> celebrating in the midst of death and destruction.  But, I
strongly
> felt that life takes precedent over death.  The rabbi
officiating
> at the ceremonies understood this.  She explained that we who
had traveled
> were there because of our strong sense of family and
friendship.  She
> wisely told of the Jewish tradition that when a funeral
procession meets a
> wedding party, the former gives way to the latter.  It is more
than a
> symbolic embracement of life. It is a commitment to life, the
rabbi
> reminded us.  Life goes on. Life is good.
>
>         I saw and felt that persistence in life, that
commitment to live,
> in the wee hours of Atlanta. A man entered the airplane slowly
waving a
> small American flag saying, "F--- the terrorists."  He
defiantly nodded
> his head and smiled.  There was applause, mine included.
Tears came to my
> eyes. I don't think I was the only one.  I, too, felt a
patriotic
> obligation to fly.  Maybe the planes that crashed into the
Towers and the
> Pentagon also shattered our complacency.  More importantly,
they awakened
> our consciousness out from a taking-for-granted stupor and
slammed into
> our psyche to remind us who we are. That man colorfully said
it all.
> Buildings are structures.  They even may be symbols.  They are
not that
> indefinable but powerful American spirit. And if it was the
> American-thrashing and American-hating terrorists' intent to
destroy our
> will to go on living, they will be defeated by people such as
this man who
> refuse to let that spiritual destruction happen.
>
>         It is wrong to think that America goes on unchanged.
It is also
> wrong to think that America is utterly changed.  It's okay to
be nervous
> and even afraid.  The thing is not to let that nervousness and
fear
> control you.  Things may not be the same, but they will be
okay in another
> kind of way and in the same way. And so, on that plane, I also
felt a
> firmer resolve to go on being an American.
>
>         I cherish my basic freedoms, civil liberties, and the
sanctity of
> the individual. In this struggle, whatever the contrary
temptation, we are
> invited and challenged to protect our rights and freedoms.  It
is the only
> right thing to do. It is the only right way to do things.  We
don't need
> another set of blotting and smudging Alien and Sedition Acts.
We need to
> write clear and fine words and phrases.  To leave those
freedoms and
> liberties we so cherish unaltered, not to forget who we are,
to retain
> dearly what we value, and remember how we should live is an
essential part
> of winning in this "war."  No, it is THE essential part.  If
we don't, as
> we've lost before we've begun to fight.
>
>         And so, I don't think at all of the rhetoric
of "crusade" or the
> "first war of the 21st century" or "dead or alive."  I think
most of the
> public statements that the FBI, while in the midst of this
crisis, while
> it is engaged in a massive hunt for the perpetrators of this
hienious
> attack, will with equal vigor pursue hate crimes launched
against innocent
> Arab and Muslim Americans.  That is a powerful statement of
what we are
> all about.
>
>         Of all the pictures I've seen on TV and in print, the
most
> powerful image burned in my soul during these terrible days is
not that of
> a plane hitting a building or of the collapse of structure
mesmerizing as
> they may be. It is that of three heroic NY firemen raising the
flag over
> the rubble as if it was a reenactment of the marines on Iwo
Jima.  In
> those firemen and the police, lead by real values to risk and
lose their
> lives, we saw that as steel and glass and concrete collapsed,
the American
> spirit rose up stronger than it ever has been in a long time.
I saw
> images of death and destruction born from a hateful womb.  I
also saw with
> pride images of courage, generosity, and strength emerging out
from a
> compassionate womb. I saw resolve, character, and the
resurrection of a
> spirit that has brought us together. I am not ashamed to admit
that I
> cannot count how many times I was brought to tears.  I was
reminded that
> love of country is really love of this country values,
liberties, and
> freedoms. It is the glue that binds all of us diverse people
together into
> one people.  "I love America" doesn't mean a thing if we don't
care about
> and care for and love one another.
>
>         And to all those extremists on the left and right, I
now say we
> are a good people. We are not a perfect people.  We have built
a just
> place to live, a fair place to live, and a decent place to
live.  We have
> not built a perfect palce to live.  The American spirit won't
be
> conquered. We'll preserve what we have and write to improve on
it.  We
> will defiantly rebuild and live. Others places have risen from
greater
> ashes:  London, Sarajevo, Tokyo, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Dresden,
Berlin,
> London, Beirut, San Francisco, Chicago.  And so will New York
and
> Washington.
>
>         Those terrorists reminded me who I am.  They
reinforced who I am
> as an American and more importantly as a human being.  I will
not--I
> cannot even if I wanted to--separate my mind and body from my
heart.  And
> when I return to class today, this is who and what I will
share and
> discuss with students when they inevitably will ask me today
if I had felt
> a "fear of flying."
>
>
> Make it a good day.
>
>                                                        --Louis-
-
>
>
> Louis Schmier                     www.therandomthoughts.com
> Department of History
www.halcyon.com/arborhts/louis.html
> Valdosta State University
> Valdosta, GA  31698                           /~\        /\ /\
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