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Date: Wed, 12 Sep 2001 09:49:22 -0700 (PDT)
From: Winslow Yerxa
Subject: And on Earth, Peace toward men of good will

Et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis

(And on Earth, Peace toward men of good will)

These are some of my favorite words from the Latin
liturgy, and they help me to find my way through the
many terrible emotions brought on by yesterday's
terrible events.

There needs to be justice; there needs to be peace.

Without justice there is no peace.

Sometimes justice can only come with the sword.
But if the sword is wielded without good will, without
compassion, there is still no justice, and still no
peace.

It takes great strength to keep faith and compassion
in the face of terror. Strength and determination will
be needed to find and bring to justice the
perpetrators of these terrible crimes. At the same
time, we must create new strengths, and have the
resolve to put them in place - restructuring our
systems of transportation to make them less vulnerable
to exploitation for destructive ends.

But the greatest strength - and the hardest to bring
to bear - is the strength to be compassionate, not
only toward those who have suffered such terrible
losses in yesterday's attacks, but also toward those
whose lives have been made so miserable that they feel
their only option is terror.

The heart that believes that terror is justice, that
terror is salvation, that terror is glory, that terror
is its only option, is a heart perverted. But it
cannot be destroyed with bombs - we haven't enough of
them, and every bomb creates more of them.

Justice cuts both ways. We want it for ourselves,
feeling wronged. But we must also be prepared to offer
justice to all, including those we may have wronged or
even neglected.

We must punish the guilty and interdict the activities
of their supporters. But we will have no peace until
we can root out the causes of the injustices they have
suffered.

It is only human to be angry, and to wish to strike
out against those who have injured us. But to lash out
against whole groups of innocent people is to be no
better than the criminals who killed so many innocents
yesterday.

All major religions urge compassion. Yet all major
religions have also codified poisonous messages of
hate - they reflect humanity in this way. All of us,
regardless of the nation, culture, or religion with
which we identify, have the capacity to love and
build or to hate and destroy. No major religion is
free of this taint, and it is hypocritical for the
adherent of one religion to accuse other religions of
being hateful or destructive.

We are working on a building, all of us. We stand on
the shoulders of the builders who came before us, and
we build a higher, stronger, wider platform for those
who come after us. We can be building, strengthening,
preserving, and extending, or we can be neglecting,
obstructing and destroying.

Are there sides to be taken?

Yes there are. But they do not have names of nations.
The do not have the names of religions, or cultures or
colors of skin.

The sides to be on are the side of the builder or the
side of the destroyer.

Anger is understandable in this situation. But think
before you speak hatefully. This puts you in the hands
of the destroyer. Anger is best channeled to build our
house, and strengthen it against the forces of harm
and destruction, and to enlarge it to include all.

Winslow

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