Letter to the editor reprinted from the Dec 19,2001, issue
 | Hates best shot wasnt good enough BY CRAIG KNOLL On Sept. 11, hate took its best shot at humanity. Humanity staggered but did not fall and hate revealed itself as a weakling. At first, the devastation, the impact of hate, absorbed our attention, filling our senses and thoughts. We stared at it in horror, as if there was nothing else to see. Then we stepped back from the vision of hate and looked around. We saw firefighters who gave their lives so that others would live. We saw search and rescue personnel, who worked until they dropped, hoping to find someone still alive in the wreckage. We saw airline passengers, true heroes, who said, Lets do it, and put their airliner into the ground so that hate could not fly it into humanity. We saw people waiting in line for hours to donate blood. We saw volunteers directing traffic. We saw more acts of kindness toward each other and less impatience. Helen Keller wrote, Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved. That is why hate cannot prevail. Humanity absorbs the blow and grows stronger. It has been said that life after Sept. 11 will never be the same. It wont. It will be better. Humanity will do what it must do to subdue hate. But more than ever before, humanity will reach out to each other and commit itself to the vision of a fulfilling life for all. We will share our time, our talents and our resources freely, not because we seek a return, but because it is right. That is Gods desire for humanity. It is the Good News, brought to us by one born in a manger in Bethlehem long ago. Love God with all your heart and mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself, Jesus said. Love each other, as I have loved you. It is the message of Christmas, Gods message to Gods beloved humanity. Hate appears when people put their interests, ideology or pride first. Humanity appears when people put life first. Humanity appears when people value others as well as themselves. That is precisely what humanity has done, and will continue to do, in response to hate. Hate took its best shot and it wasnt enough. It never is. Humanity shall prevail. Craig Knoll is lay leader of Providence UMC in Kemptown. |
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