Never Forget 9/11
All right, don’t string me up…
But, when we say “never forget,” when speaking of 9/11, do we also mean that the countries we attacked should never forget either? Ultimately, the wrong thing to do is to retaliate, hold grudges, and kill. But sometimes, we think our group is more important than the other groups. Our deaths are more significant, our suffering more noteworthy, and our wrongs more easily forgiven.
Our notions of a retributive god and personal and national retribution are ideas that we inherited from religion, that have never served us very well. We assumed that we should be because we were right and God was on our side.
It seems like the time in human history to embrace a more restorative way forward.
We’ve seen the worst of humanity, having it fully emerge within our religion, our politics, and our societies.
It’s now time to choose a different path.
We will never achieve what truly serves us by embracing the retributive path. It’s time to begin restoring what has been damaged by our misguided ways.
Who is ready to create a new world by changing ourselves?
I’ll do what I can.
How about you?
Karl Forehand is a former pastor, podcaster, and award-winning author. His books include Out into the Desert, Leaning Forward, Apparent Faith: What Fatherhood Taught Me About the Father’s Heart, The Tea Shop and Being: A Journey Toward Presence and Authenticity. He is the creator of The Desert Sanctuary podcast and community. He is married to his wife Laura of 35 years and has one dog named Winston. His three children are grown and are beginning to multiply! You can read more about the author here
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