Fear, Fear! Everywhere Fear! (Except Here, Of Course)

I walked this morning. Usual stuff. It’s cool and comfy. Portland can be like that in September. It can be hot, too, but not today—yet.

As I walked along the quiet streets, I suddenly remembered that today is September 11, 2009. The eighth anniversary of that Infamous Day in New York City. The day that changed everything. The day that took the lives of more than 3000 people, mostly innocent, several guilty (the hijackers). I flashed back to turning on my TV that morning and seeing the smoke pouring out of the Twin Towers, live and in color, on NBC. “My god, what’s happening here?” I found out soon enough.

This morning, as I remembered that fateful day, I looked down and spotted a very small flower, a weed actually, squeezing itself up toward the sun through the grass. I stooped down to examine it closely. My heart was moved.

Yes, 9/11 was a terrible event. It shook us to our foundations. And we’ll never forget the civilians, the fire people, the police people, and everyone else who died, who helped, who searched, who recorded. We honor them.

The Iraq war is not the result of 9/11. It was on the drawing board long before the attacks, But it is the continuation of it. By keeping the American people wrapped in the fear of terrorism, the powers that be keep us under control. If you doubt for a minute that all is not right, you are considered a traitor, or at least “un-American,” whatever that means.

(Point to Ponder: The major reason for going into Iraq was to recapture the oil profits, denied them when Saddam Hussein nationalized Iraq’s oil industry a few decades back. Can’t have that, you know!)

Fear is not healthy for a nation. As long as we remain in fear of the terrorists, they win. They don’t need to attack us again. We’re doing that job for them.

The flower in the grass tells me that life is still worth living even if it’s a struggle at times. And as long as I am afraid, I cannot live it to the fullest. I have chosen to no longer be afraid. Life is good again.

Get over the fear. Don’t fall for the bait. Don’t let the media, the politicians, the religionists, the doomsdayers, or the terrorists take your joy of living away from you.

The greatest war is always within. So is the greatest peace.

“When there is peace in your heart, it will find its way into the world.”