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“Reality
TV – September 11, 2001”
An unfortunate media fad
(“fad” being defined as something popular well beyond its merits, and will
soon disappear leaving us to wonder, “What were we thinking?”) involves
these so-called “reality TV” shows – you know, the ones that force some
guys and some beautiful young women to cavort scantily clad on an island,
or the ones where some guys and some beautiful young women are forced to
cavort scantily clad on a cruise ship, or the one that forces some guys
and some beautiful young women to cavort in a New England town to find
a murderer, or the ones that force – wait, am I sensing a theme here?
Whose “reality” is this?
On the morning of September 11th, 2001,
we were shown another type of “reality TV,” one which shows us a reality
that, while it sounds like something out of a Tom Clancy novel or Bruce
Willis film, has become our reality and is definitely not
a fiction. Who among us didn’t see the pictures of the planes slicing
into the World Trade Center Towers and not think that this
must be some kind of movie special effects? This just doesn’t
seem real… but it is.
As story after story comes out from the
hundreds of thousands of those affected by the over 6,300 deaths and injuries
of almost as many more, we realize that the devastation done to the planes
and buildings in New York City, Pennsylvania and Washington DC is
nothing compared to the damage done to the families, hearts and
spirit of so, so many. The events of 9/11/2001 have literally changed
the way we in America look at the world and ourselves. Interestingly, some
in other countries are saying, “Now you understand what we have been experiencing”
– albeit on a much larger scale.
Do we understand? Really? I’m
afraid that the terrible reality of it all is beginning to invade our collective
consciousness. We’ve been reading/hearing a new term lately in the
media: Homeland Defense. I understand that this has
been around for a while, but I’ve never heard it before. What it
seems to mean is that there will be absolutely incredible increases in
spending for military buildup, covert operations, national law enforcement,
and – of course – airline security. Our lives will
change.
Our worldview must change as well.
The general belief in our own security, safety and invulnerability as a
nation has been shaken to the core. In the not-too-distant past we
have been, off-and-on, worried about a rogue state or terrorist faction
launching missiles into our country and damaging one of our cities – but
we are confronted with the profoundly simple reality that we ourselves
are flying thousands of “missiles” (airliners) around our own skies, literally
free for the taking – which doesn’t seem to have been all that hard to
do. Except for the nuclear bombs dropped in Japan at the end of WWII, there
has NEVER been a greater loss of life in a single day in an act of war.
And our economy – arguably the greatest
in the world – has been thrown into a genuine and frightening tailspin,
being massively impacted in virtually every sector with effects that touch
every person in some way. We are hearing daily of truly massive lay-offs,
companies suddenly merging or going into bankruptcy, and consumer and corporate
spending plans being altered significantly. As the effects of these
actions begin rippling through our economy and society, we will each be
affected in a significant and unpleasant way. It will happen.
Eighteen people did all this,
dying happily in the truly twisted belief that they were serving God.
Fundamentalists in any faith – Muslim, Judaism, Christianity – are frightening
people who have lost their humanity in an attempt to achieve the divine.
They always fail. Jesus showed us in the incarnation -- his becoming human
-- that the divine and human must be connnected or faith is meaningless.
That is where our hope really lies – God valuing humans so much that he
became fully human – and then sacrificing himself in order to save us.
As we pattern our lives after Jesus, working to save and heal others, we
become more, not less, fully human, and our understanding and value of
human life greatly increases.
Speaking as a citizen of the world,
I hope and dare believe that there will come out of this some kind of international
standard precisely identifying terrorism, as well as declaring all who
engage in or support such acts as criminals who need to be removed from
society on a world-wide basis. Each country needs to take ownership
for this. Until this happens on a worldwide scale, terrorists present
a nearly invisible moving target, able to strike at will. The harder we
try to block the actions of terrorists, the more inventive they will become.
Can other nations be coerced into this, threatened into siding with us?
Probably not. We risk being accused of a kind of reverse terrorism
against others, and the cycle of hatred continues.
Speaking as a Christian,
I can’t help but be greatly concerned by the increasingly strident talk
of war. We Christians are, after all, a people of peace and need
to act as such, especially when we’re tempted to retaliate. It is
in our re-born nature to save, but also to protect. Are there options
other than war when we are angry? I really think so!
What if, instead of threatening those who
harbor terrorists with obliteration (thereby furthering the endless cycle
of violence and hatred), we offer them economic development and a true
partnership in a world struggling to be free of anarchists and terrorists
in
exchange for policing their own country of these insane, inhuman
terrorists? I’m sure that it would be cheaper than waging war (in
dollars, economic damage and loss of life), and it gets at what causes
terrorist groups to arise anyway: poverty, starvation, oppression and fear,
resulting in the people of some of these countries harboring terrorists
becoming easy targets for the would-be fascists of the world grabbing their
hearts and focusing their resentment on others (the US especially) for
their misery. Hitler was a master at this, at capitalizing on the
discontent of the people, blaming someone else for their troubles (the
Jews, then the rest of the world), and making them do literally anything
to accomplish his goals. Working for real peace in other countries
would certainly change the view of these people about us as a nation as
well.
Speaking as a pastor, I am
concerned for the hearts and souls of those in my flock. I sense
a real escalation of anxiety about personal issues, an increased strain
on relationships, a desire to retaliate against someone for what was done,
and a suspicion of anyone resembling those who are known to have attacked
our country and killed so many. We should not allow the evil in the
world to change us. We should not allow the terrorists to force us
to live in their world.
Find ways to bring peace. Cherish
all around you. Make the most of the time you have. Get rid
of the garbage in your life that damages and controls you. Get rid of the
nonsense, the trivial, the wastes of time and energy. Work to redeem
relationships and find the best in people. Love, forgive, heal.
This must be our reality, and in Christ
we are free to live in that reality.
In Jesus’ love,
Pastor Larry Becker
Sr. Pastor
Trinity Lutheran Church,
Hawthorne, CA
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