- How will September 11, 2001 be remembered in the years
to come? As the beginning of the end? As one more day that woke us up for
a while until we drifted back to sleep? Or could it go down in history
as a terrible wound inflicted that awakened us to the need for healing?
Maybe we could be like the man who has a heart attack (bad news, right?),
but his trip to the emergency room results in the discovery of a cancer
that is then successfully treated.
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- As we approach the first anniversary of the horrific
September 11th attacks, may we take the opportunity to expand our minds
and hearts beyond the potentially dangerous nationalistic pride. The real
tragedy of 9-11 is not that America was attacked but that human beings
are both capable of and willing to inflict such pain on other human beings.
That's the cancer.
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- Albert Einstein referred to nationalism as a disease.
I'm no Einstein, but I believe that, as is so often the case, the challenge
is to put things into a reasonable and realistic perspective. Anyone who
genuinely wants to contribute to healing must resist the temptation to
approach global politics like it's a team sport or an Arnold Schwarzenegger
movie. Just as I take some of my identity from being a Texan but do not
consider that identity above my being an American, we must also not let
our identity as Americans keep us from seeing our place in the bigger picture
as members of the human race and guardians of planet earth.
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- As a psychotherapist and as a participant in my own personal
growth, I have come to believe that our hearts and our minds are intended
to work together, in partnership, neither one imposing itself on the other.
The emotions that have been stirred in us during this past year are important;
they are vital. The analysis that has been generated is just as important.
Our challenge, as Americans and as citizens of the world, is to put the
two together, to allow our hearts to fuel us and our minds to direct us
--- and specifically direct us to break free of old familiar, circular
patterns of behavior that ultimately solve nothing. All growth moves from
inside out, so to bring about change in the most substantial way possible,
we need to begin by tuning into the conversations that are going on within
us --- you know, the committee that exists in us all. And if you put your
ear to the conference room door and hear nothing, if you are only of one
mind, one unanimous opinion about all that is going on in our world, I
will be so bold as to suggest that you are hiding behind simplicity and
all-or-none thinking.
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- With courage we can step away from the security blanket
of oversimplification and into the less comfortable turbulence within us.
Like the horror we felt a year ago, that turbulence is a sane response,
congruent with the tumultuous conditions of our human relationships. Like
I tell my clients --- and do my best to practice --- we need to listen
carefully to the inner-struggle. Don't run, don't hide behind over simplifications
and scenarios full of good guys and bad guys. Listen to our hearts and
minds; they are hard at work. And we need to pay attention. We need to
think a thought or two past our initial reflexes and remind ourselves ---
and each other --- that the community in most danger here is not America,
but humanity.
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- The solutions we so desperately need will not be found
in a contest to see who the toughest guy on the block is, but in a partnership
that begins within each of us and expands to become a global sense of community.
There are no easy answers. We must be willing to face our own cognitive
dissonance, be willing to experience the discomfort there, and be willing
for that discomfort to move us to pro-activity. Don't just think about
volunteering; volunteer. Don't just complain about government; participate.
Don't just disagree with this article; write a letter to the editor.
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- Einstein said many thought-provoking things, among them
a statement that I have yet to reconcile as someone who believes in both
the right of self-defense and the superiority of peaceful interventions.
He said, "We cannot simultaneously prepare for war and for peace."
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- So as we approach this very important anniversary in
our country's history, let us make the solid decision to open our hearts
and minds to dealing with the problems we now face in new and creative
ways. By all means, God bless America. But let's not forget to add, "God
bless us all."
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- ___
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- Thom Rutledge is the author of Embracing Fear and Finding
the Courage to Live Your Life (HarperSanFrancisco). He can be reached at
thomrutledge@earthlink.net, or visit his web site at webpowers.com/thomrutledge.
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- For more information, visit http://www.webpowers.com/thomrutledge
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