One More Time
Go to the special Guestbook page
Check out the RANTS that are referred to in this rant:
to read people's responses to Ben's 9-11 Rants!
Oct. 1, 2001: "How Do We Respond?"
And the Follow-up:
Oct. 8, 2001: "Is It Human Nature?"
October 22, 2001
Dear friends and fans, I won't try to pretend I don't have big differences with some
people on these issues, but I appreciate the fact that you have
cared enough to read and reply. At least we agree on how fortunate
we are to live in a country where free debate is not repressed.
Two main clarifications:
1. Do I think terrorists can be negotiated with? No, and I never
said we should try.
2. Do I think we should take action to protect and defend our
country? Yes, and I never said we shouldn't.
Some people seem to flip out when words like tolerance,
compassion or forgiveness are brought up in any discussion of our
response to the Sept. 11 attacks and terrorism in general. Amazing,
the power of words, isn't it? Yet our president is urging tolerance
toward Islam, and compassion for the Afghan people. And I suppose
some might even agree that the innocent American citizens who were
attacked just because they appeared to be Arabic should forgive the
ignorance of those who attacked them.
Re-read the rants!
I have simply been saying that if action must be taken, let it be
done with the purest of intentions: to seek justice, freedom, peace
for all. Let the warriors do what they do, let the politicians do
what they do. It's up to our leadership to do what must be done,
it's up to us to urge them to do it morally and ethically. I am
tired of hearing people talk about the religious principles this
country was founded on, and then in the next breath, hear their
language turn venomous with hate and violence. By speaking and
acting in the heat of anger, don't they realize they are in effect
rejecting their own beliefs, and by example are encouraging our
leaders to do the same?
Anyone who has made an effort to study and learn about the
background to this crisis has discovered what a messy, complicated
affair it is. If anyone claims to have the "solution to the
problem," they are kidding themselves and you. All we can really do
is to try (and by that I mean: make an effort!) to keep our own
hearts pure and so be an example to others. That's all I've been
saying.
I always wind up being philosophical about peace because it's all
I can do, besides play music. I'm not a warrior or a politician. But
I urge you all to at least give equal consideration to the concepts
of compassion and forgiveness. I can sense some tempers flaring
already; just hold that thought and read on!
There is deeper meaning to those words than at first appears. It
does not mean that you do nothing in response to
hateful violence. It does not mean that you have to be
friends with the attackers. It simply means that you won't allow
your own heart to be poisoned the way that theirs are. It means that
by your own example you show the way for the future we all want.
It has been suggested to me that idealism is a fine basis for
personal conduct, but not a realistic basis for the conduct of
nations. Again, my response is that I am not trying to tell people
what to do, or how to run the government. I am saying that the
idealists offer important role models and influences for those who
must deal with the serious problems of the real world. Watch how
quickly the Congress degenerates back to petty partisan squabbling
and you'll see why I feel the need to make these views known to my
elected representatives.
And finally- we are all starting to lose our sense of humor in
all this. I hang out with people who have an absurd, even bizarre
sense of humor because sometimes I feel it's the only sane response
to the madness of the world we live in. So just remember- for every
minute of serious debate, refresh yourself with an episode of Monty
Python's Flying Circus, the latest issue of the Onion, or something.
Now get out of here, I love you guys, cut it out, will ya?
Go to the special Guestbook page
Your comments welcome!
There has definitely been some mis-interpreting of my rants
on the subject of how to respond to the Sept. 11 attacks, so I am
having one more go at getting my point across; thanks for your
attention one last time on this subject:
to read people's responses to Ben's 9-11 Rants!
