Keep your messages going strong.

That said, I do wish we had caught Osama bin Laden, the man who was behind all of this destruction and death. He is the one who should be brought to justice! But Bush says that he doesn’t think about him very much anymore. Meanwhile, thousands of our troops and innocent Iraqi civilians are maimed or killed.

I often tell my little boy that we are so lucky to have been born in the U.S., where we have enough food to eat, a roof over our heads, and many opportunities available to us. I don’t know why we are so lucky, while others aren’t, but I’m just grateful for what we have.

I pray for peace & blessings for all those adversely affected by this event. I admire greatly all the parents out there looking for ways to inculcate gratitude & peaceful ways in their children.

This Tragedy is another unfortunate example of man’s inhumanity to man. Was is Mother Theresa who said “An Eye for an Eye makes the Whole World Blind!” ?

The Christian Bible advises: (Romans 12:17-21) . . .Return evil for evil to no one. Provide fine things in the sight of all men. 18 If possible, as far as it depends upon YOU, be peaceable with all men. 19 Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but yield place to the wrath; for it is written: “Vengeance is mine; I WILL REPAY, says God.” 20 But, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by doing this you will heap fiery coals upon his head.” 21 Do not let yourself be conquered by the evil, but keep conquering the evil with the good.”

Actually, by ‘feeding’ our enemies we sometimes wean them from their habit of violence, to more civilized ways of co-habiting the earth. But this takes great patience, and suffering in the meantime, unfortunately.

And I’m definitely NOT going to give such a violent message to my kids… how awful that someone with such a strong voice would choose to do so!

First off, as someone whose family was directly affected by the horrid events of September 11, 2001, that video was a welcomed sight. Not only for myself to refect on what happened and how far we have come since that day but also for others to REMEMBER!! Truely remember that day, how we felt, what we knew and how we all reacted. That video seems to have been made shortly after 9/11 and is not refering to our war in Iraq. With that in mind it’s sure easy for “Peggy” and “Margaret” to condem the following message but how quickly “we forget” what was done to us.

I have long since given my hate and fear over to God. As a Christian it is not possible to live in hate or anger and still maintain a Christian life. Forgiveness for such things is only possible through Jesus. As for hating Muslims or the teaching of Muslims…. justic is not vengance nor is it hate. It is often fueled by these two things… but do not confuse them. I hope for education and enlightenment for all Muslims. I hope for them to see the hate and murder preached from the Koran. Do not hate the people… but by all means hate the teachings. It is absurd that so many Americans are blind to the truth of the Islamic world. They (an extream majority) want all of us infidels dead. They want to rule the whole world and do not care at all about what happens to the rest of us. It’s in all of thier teachings. That does not mean all Muslims will kill nor does it mean that they are all hate filled. But look around! What are muslim’s and thier leaders doing to stop the practices of terrorists? Nothing!! They as sure doing alot of talk to us and telling us not to hate them and not to judge thier “peaceful religion”! You would have to be truly ignorant to the tachings of Islam to EVER think it was a Peaceful religion!! Now there have always been people from all religions who have twisted the belifes to push thier hate and violence on others ( look at hitler and the KKK), but anyone can read the teachings of Chirst and plainly see that is not what the Bible teaches. Yet when you read the Koran you can plainly see that it is not only okay to kill (even on a massive scale) but it is rewarded and encouraged if those killed are not musilms. You do the math so to speak.

I do not think it is okay to blindly hate someone for what they believe. Nor do I think it is okay to treat a muslim badly with hate or fear just because they are muslim. They are all Gods children and first and formost they need to be judged on thier actions, words and practices. I hope that the memories of those lost remind us to be vigalient but not blinded by our hate and fear. Just don’t mistake my forgiveness and love for others as a free pass for those muslims (most muslims) trying to teach hate and murder. They must be stopped one way or another. I perfer with education and love, but I understand that force is often the only way to deal with such extream thinkers. Pray for all or humankind. We need it!

Just food for thought.

In loving Memory of Peter Gay, American Airlines Flight 11.

———

9/11 is a very emotional day. I lived about 45 minutes north of
New York City for most of my life and the horror of the attacks
affected us in many ways.

This is a moving 9/11 tribute:

http://attacked911.tripod.com/

I’m not ashamed to admit that tears came to my eyes as I watched
it, and a huge lump developed in my throat. At the end of the
movie, I was left with an overwhelming feeling of gratitude:
Thankfulness for the life that I have in sharp contrast to the
terrifying image of the person who jumped out of the World Trade
Center to his death.

How can we teach our children to feel gratitude?

The simplest things, the ones we take for granted, ought to be
appreciated. For example, having hands that can function
effectively is a great starting point. A teacher I know asked his
class to avoid using their hands for five minutes in order to drive
home this point. What an incredible lesson the class learned! In
just five minutes they realized what a fantastic gift fully
functioning hands and fingers are, and how incapacitated they would
be without them.

Read more about instilling gratitude in your child here:

http://www.raisingsmallsouls.com/gratitude/

To our children’s success,

Ellen

SEPTEMBER 911 VIDEO
Tears came to my eyes as I watched the images of the individuals who died in the planes and the towers. I appreciated that part. But I also felt saddened by the final message of violence that rang out in the end. “We will give you a jihad you won’t forget.” Violence begets violence and messages of revenge and retaliation sound the same and get just about the same results from “either side.” Define an enemy, do violence to an enemy, and pretty much end up becoming like the enemy.

This video does not promote violence, it promotes justice. And if you have a problem with that then how about your children’s safety? Go read the Koran! Go read the Haddiths! I don’t promote hatred. I do promote the rebuking of anyone who holds to evil ideas or beliefs. The Muslim religion is the only religion that I have ever studied that actually promotes in its religious doctrines the annilation of all those not Muslim. In the Haddiths, it clearly states that Muslims are not bound to be honest to any non-Muslim. If you are not Muslim, you are disposable. We cannot appease them because, by their own documents, they will not rest until the entire world is Muslim. If you cherish your rights as Americans, as humans, then you had better get your head out of the sand and LEARN about the religion so you can make good choices in the voting booth! Osama bin Laden says we are fighting WW3 in Iraq, why can you not see the importance of this struggle. The answer is you do not understand the history of the Muslim people or the religion. I didn’t either until 9/11. These people living in these Muslim countries have NO CHOICE of whether or not to be Muslim. I do not hate the people of the Arab states, but I do hate the evil that has been forced upon them for generations. I hate the ignorance of those boys and men that have been raised to hate America and most do not even know why. I hate the ignorance of Americans that know only the Socialist viewpoint of international relations thanks to our colleges. We should be proud of what has been built since 1776 through hardwork and Capitalism. We should, we must stand up and fight. Not for revenge, but PROTECTION. Protection of our individual rights and freedoms. Make no mistake, the jihadists laugh at our bickering about whether or not to try to fight them. They already know that they have infiltrated. They know how this country works. They are not playing by any rule book. If you are not Muslim, you should be dead. Do not be naive. Did you not see all the video and read all the comments from Muslims who were celebrating 9/11? What will it take to get you to understand? “First they came for the communists, but I wasn’t a communist so I
didn’t say anything. Then they came for the Jews, but I wasn’t a Jew
so I didn’t say anything. Then they came for the union members, but
I wasn’t a union member so I didn’t say anything. Then they came for
the catholics, but I was a Protestant so I didn’t say anything. When
they came for the Protestants, there was nobody left to say anything.” So, maybe that it what it will take. Maybe only when they come for you and your children will you think it important enough to fight for the freedom and individual rights of all. For me, 9/11 taught that we have a personal investment in the freedom and education of all peoples. You sit here in America enjoying your freedoms, while women in the Islamic misogynistic society are treated as less than cattle and children raped and indoctrinated to hate America. I will not sit quietly by, while our sisters in womanhood suffer. They cry out in their souls for our help!! Can you not hear them? I will not sit quietly and allow them to spread these evil beliefs. I am not promoting violence, but standing against the violence that the Islamic fascists commit against their own women and children and brothers who do not agree.
Gratefully American, Dee

Peggy refers to the violence and retribution in the attached 9/11 tribute video. A VERY moving video that reminds us all of that fateful day in song, pictures, and voiceover in the beginning, then dissolves into hatefulness and vengeance.
As for me, I am willing to overlook that portion of it in favor of the sincerity of the rest.
It also reminds us of the need to instill gratitude in our children (and even ourselves) for all that we are given.