I really didn't think I'd have another diddly quite so soon!

I really get angry when I have to deal with narrow-minded people, you know, people who think that there way is the only way.  I have firm beliefs and I'm not easily swayed to believe differently, but I certainly have room in my heart to listen to other people's points of view.

A part of being narrow-minded is being judgemental.  I don't think anyone of us has the wisdom... or even the right... to judge another person's motives.  We may view their actions, which may very well be evil or wrong, but there's not one of us who can look into that person's heart and see their motives and intentions.

I have this to say to you, narrow-minded person:  I am so angry at you.  How dare you hurt someone who is kind and gentle, someone who may make a mistake, but promptly admits it.  Why can't you give that person the benefit of the doubt?  If you don't extend mercy, how can you possibly expect to have mercy extended to you?

I'm not condoning wrongdoing.  I'm condemning the self-righteous attitude that says, "I'm in the right, and you're in the wrong."  Before you are so hasty to judge, try walking a mile in that person's life.  You have not one idea what it's like to be that person.

How do I dare be so judgemental and self-righteous about condemning narrow-minded attitudes?  Because I used to be one of them.  I surely hope I've learned my lesson.

People I really care about were lost in the collaspe of the World Trade Center complex.  I ache for their families and cry for their pain and loss.  I blubber and sob when I see the crashes reenacted over and over.  Hope dashed again and again.

Thank you for your sympathies.  But I will be glad when all the anniversary hullabaloo about September 11 is over, and let us grieve in peace.

I am especially angered when I sense an organization or news team is benefiting their own agenda by preying on the misery of others.  I wouldn't like my grief paraded around on prime-time television for three-months before the anniversary.  I think the camaraderie of those who've lost someone in death is helpful, but on television.  C'mon.  Give me a break!

And for those who are struggling to go on with their daily lives, what hope is there of that?  Everytime you turn around, another news story or charitable organization is bringing up the tragedy.

But... the real tragedy lies in other areas, methinks.

Those who died that sunny day in September are not the only victims of tragedy in this world.  What about my cousin Josiah who was hit by a car and instantly killed?  Is his death any less important than those who happened to be in the wrong place at the right time?  I know it isn't for me.  I'm sure it isn't for his parents either.

What about the death of a loved one from breast cancer?  What about the woman who loses four of her sisters to brain aneurysms , and she tests positive for it herself?  What about her children who suffer as she recovers from a stroke? 

What about the mother struggling with a child in the hospital?  Her child dies of some awful disease.  Is her grief less important than the grief of the widow whose husband died on 9/11?  Is her heroism any less than the men who saved countless lives by giving their own?

I don't think so.

I'm glad that the children of 9/11 victims will have a college fund and health insurance.  But what about donations for the children dying from

• diphtheria
• measles
• polio
• tetanus
• tuberculosis
• and whooping cough.

It only costs $17 to immunize a child against all six of these diseases.

• Let's not forget about the children dying from diarrheal dehydration for the lack of a five-cent packet of oral rehydration salts.
• Where is our sympathy for the mother whose child is dying of starvation?
• Where's our compassion for the grandmother who is raising her grandchildren because both their parents have died of AIDS?

So on this day when many people are hailing the 9/11 victims and comforting their survivors, let's not forget about all the other pain and suffering in the world.

Let's not forget to hug our kids and tell our loved ones how much they mean to us.  We never know when something like 9/11 may happen to one of us.

Freedom

September 11, 2001 The Day the World Cried