Courage or Cowardice?

Courage in the face of extreme fear and danger. September 11 is a day that will be remembered with sadness as long as there are people around to talk about it. How much more "in your face" could the murder of so many have been? Precious were the lives that suffered an unthinkable death on that sad September day. How many of us can claim to be innocent bystanders on that morning? Who is at fault? Who is innocent?

If we stand by and continue to accept that any one person, place, religion, or belief is inferior to another then we are all at fault for the tragedy that occurred eight years ago. We are all equal in the eyes of the universe. We are no greater or more superior then the dinosaurs were. One day we will be as lifeless and fossilized as they are. Our "gallant" wars will be written about as archaic and without spiritual foundation. The lives lost, both in the air and on the ground, will have suffered in vain if we have learned nothing from this experience other then more hatred.

I believe in a world overflowing with free thinkers, love, tolerance, hope and joy. I believe that no man is innocent. No cause too small to take into consideration. No war worth fighting. I believe no religion is better then the other, or more important then the last. I believe in enlightened beings, and evil doers. But what I do not believe, is that any one person, place or religion is superior to any other.

We are all struggling to understand what life is about. Each of us in our own way. Some of us imposing their views on the weak, and desperate, others branching off to form what they consider a more advanced stepping stone to eternity. For all we know, this is our eternity. What if we are God? Each one of us acting as we believe our higher power to act. Passing the same judgement on our neighbors and ourselves. What if we determined our own fate and destiny? What if we took a moment in each day a prayed for those we hate, and those we fear and those we know nothing about. And, what if they did the same? What if we all tried to understand and tolerate difference?

Tolerance: A gift we give ourselves that helps us to see we are all the same.