Lest we forget...

[svxistentialist]

the families and loved ones and friends of those who were lost in the massacre and subsequent rescue of September 11th, we should set aside a quiet time to remember and resolve.

Long after the heroes have had a day in the forefront of our thoughts, the families, children, friends and lovers are still grieving and coping.

We remember them and their lost ones in our prayers.

Joe

[SHISVX]

Amen.

Kelli

Very well said, Joe

-Mike

[Aredubjay]

Originally posted by svxistentialist
the families and loved ones and friends of those who were lost in the massacre and subsequent rescue of September 11th, we should set aside a quiet time to remember and resolve.

Long after the heroes have had a day in the forefront of our thoughts, the families, children, friends and lovers are still grieving and coping.

We remember them and their lost ones in our prayers.

Joe

Yes, Joe. Thank you for your reminder.

We who were not directly touched by the tragedy tend to sit back in our comfortable easy chair and become complacent. The "war against terrorism" becomes the norm, and we go on about our daily lives, happy to let the tragedy stay behind us.

Let us remember. Let us ALWAYS remember.

[RSVX]

Originally posted by Aredubjay


Yes, Joe. Thank you for your reminder.

We who were not directly touched by the tragedy tend to sit back in our comfortable easy chair and become complacent. The "war against terrorism" becomes the norm, and we go on about our daily lives, happy to let the tragedy stay behind us.

Let us remember. Let us ALWAYS remember.

I was not touched by the tragedy as such, but I was and still am pat of the response to it(the war that is), and beleive me, after what I have seen, I will NOT be forgetting anytime soon...

[wasions]

A Christian perspective:

Today's Chuck Colson commentary on 'Breakpoint'
http://www.breakpoint.org


September 11: Enemies have just attacked the country's largest city by air. Thousands of civilians are killed; landmark buildings are reduced to rubble -- the objective: terrorize the nation.

No, I'm not talking about New York City six months ago. I'm talking about the attacks that occurred sixty-two years ago, when German aircraft bombed London. On September 11, 1940, Winston Churchill broadcast one of his most inspiring speeches to the British people -- a speech that demonstrated the qualities of a great leader.

Churchill did not minimize the danger; he told his listeners that nothing less than civilization was at stake. But he reassured the British people that they were up to the challenge. Hitler, Churchill said, "hopes, by killing large numbers of civilians, that he will terrorize and cow the people of this mighty imperial city . . . Little does he know of the spirit of the British nation, or the tough fiber of the Londoners."

The speech galvanized the British people. Just days later, the British got the upper hand, winning the Battle of Britain.

In Churchill's response to Hitler's terror bombing, we see the most crucial elements of leadership -- of how a great leader responds to a crisis. Churchill saw beyond the explosions and rubble. Churchill had a vision of what British resolve could do, and he confidently communicated that to the people.

Every Christian ought to examine and understand this quality of visionary leadership, not because we're going to lead a nation into war, but because as ministers -- and that's what every Christian is -- we have leadership roles at home, at work, in our churches, and in our communities. So every one of us needs the skills required to inspire and motivate others.

Where do we find the best examples of this kind of visionary leadership? -- in the Bible.

When the king of Aram was at war with Israel, he ordered his men to capture Elisha because he thought Elisha knew his every move.

One morning, Elisha's servant awoke to see an army of horses and chariots surrounding the city. In panic, he exclaimed, "Oh, my lord, what shall we do?"

But Elisha responded calmly: "Do not be afraid. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." Elisha could see what the servant could not see: Chariots of fire -- God's army surrounding the army that surrounded the city. And they far outnumbered the Arameans.

The most critical element of leadership for a Christian is this ability to see things from God's perspective and then, with that assurance, lift the sights of others. Being able to see as God sees gives us a quiet confidence because we know God is sovereign.

It was visionary leadership that made Churchill great. I believe it's the same greatness we're seeing in George Bush, as well, as he lifts the nation's confidence.

On this, the six-month anniversary of the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history, take a quiet moment to pray for wisdom for our own leaders -- both those in Washington and those on the front lines. As they continue waging the war on terror, pray that they will seek to view events and their actions from God's perspective.

And, as Winston Churchill said on September 11, sixty-two years ago, "Let God defend the Right."

[SHISVX]

out of the pics i got taken from ground zero, this pic is my favorite. it really shows the deterimination of the fireman as they marched to the rubble. i am about an hour from ground zero, so this whole thing hit me pretty hard. go to my locker and check it out.

Kelli

[svxistentialist]

Nice photo Kelli. Larry iii is also from NJ, but everyone on this board feels the pain. Hope you lost no-one close to you in it.

Steve says it all for me, I am a Christian too, and follow the Word. The only thing I might add is we could pray for the leadership and the body of good people on the Arab side also, simplistic and unpalatable as it sounds.

There are no winners in wars, nobody is totally right and good, nobody is totally wrong and evil. What there is is deep and dark misunderstanding. We want and demand enlightened leadership on all sides.

A war against terrorism will not be won on the mountain, in the desert, in the ditches nor in our streets or airports, it must be won in the hearts of men. We've had it here in Ireland for most of my adult life. It's a war we all lost.

Let's not play that game again.

Joe

[LarryIII]

Joe,

Some clarification is required.

I have never lived in NJ. I was born and raised on the west side of Manhattan. It's New York City. I lived briefly in a suburb of Philadelphia, PA. I have lived for the last 20 years in suburban Wilmington, Delaware.

There is a line from the old Marvin Gaye song, "What's Goin' On".
The line is "Only love can conquer hate." I think that this is the original Christian message and that every person should try to live by it.

Larry

[svxistentialist]

Larry, apologies, I knew you had moved, picked up the wrong accent from your hinterland.

In my defense I quote from a song before Marvin's time, Guy Mitchell I think:

"What did Delaware boys, what did Delaware?

She wore a brand New Jersey, she wore a brand New Jersey....."

Lame excuse, I know, I know.

Joe

[SHISVX]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by svxistentialist
[B]Nice photo Kelli. Larry iii is also from NJ, but everyone on this board feels the pain. Hope you lost no-one close to you in it.

a few of my family members were envolved in it. my uncle was on his way to work and got sick, he desided to turn around. he would have been on the 105th floor. other family members and close friends of mine are firemen. they spents weeks covering for the FDNY so that they could go to ground zero. this photo was taken by my boyfriend that had spent a day there with his brother to help clean up. shortly afterwords a few of my military friends got called out. i just thank God that nothing has happened to anyone that i hold close.
the whole situation was scarey. i hope that it is something that my children never have to live through. and i hope that we can put an end to all of this before it can happen again. i hope that everyone has their friends and family members still. this is something that we wish we could all forget, but never will.

Kelli

[Seraph]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by SHISVX
[B]

Originally posted by svxistentialist
the whole situation was scarey.
Kelli

I am going to bite the bullet on this one.

The situation is scary. Yes. I guess it all depends on what you see and what you are all used to seeing and what media wants you to see. I never said this is not wrong. This is! If you want to look at something scary, people should focus the attention to what was happening in Kosovo, and the Balkans, stuff in Africa, some parts of Asia, Middle East. Those are really scary compare to what happened in 9/11 and the sad thing is some of those places are still facing the same issues till today. It is a scary world out there!

A person is smart but people are dumb. As long as there are people, unfortunately, things like this will keep happening. People are just way too greedy for their own good and people have been fighting for different issues since the dawn of time.

I lived in the middle east. I have visited Gaza, Ramala, and all those places much much worse IMHO than ground zero. My parents are still there and my dad was there in Gaza last week. Everytime I get a phone call from home, I am always afraid to pick up. You don't really know scary and fear till you have that feeling constantly. Now that is fear.

Saddened: I am saddened and much more than that pissed about what happened on 9/11 as well as what happens daily at different places all around the world. A lot of you guys are seeing this as a first time and feeling this for the first time at least it's a lot closer to many of us. People see stuff in the news and movies all the time. And the thing is they are not the same.

About two years ago, I was watching a movie called "welcome to Sarajevo." I thought it was just an OK movie. About three weeks later, I got called in and was told that I had to go to Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Albania to setup a couple of servers for different ministries, NGOs and relief organizations. In sarajevo, I made a mistake of walking over the hill that was in the end of that movie and everything just sank in. In Kosovo and Albania, I saw the refugees, some babies still feeding breast milk, in the cold and that really sank in deep. Those are the images that will never leave my memory for the rest of my life. Those are sad stories.

This is how I overcome this kind of situation. I say to myself that this is not the only place that this kind of terrorism stuck. There are a lot more places that are far worse than when I am at. Instead of feeling sad, sorry, sacred, fearful, I should be happy that things are going better now where I am. I know it all sounds bad but it helps. Human nature I guess -- or my holier than thou attitute.

But we all should move on. Pray for those that suffered not just here in the US but all over the world because of some dumb a$$ or the other (and I swear some of those guys were dropped on their heads multiple times when they were kids). Pray for the families that remained because their lives are changed forever but do not be scared and be afraid. Things like this will happen as long as we have idiots living amongst us. If we move on and show them that we recovered and their hit did not bother us but made us stronger, they will slowly fade away. By showing these bastards that what they did bothered us, it gives them pleasure. Don't give them the pleasure!!!

Lwin

[LarryIII]

Why can't we all learn to live together and get along with one another.
Financially it would be cheaper in the long run if we could all learn to 'live and let live'.
If we did not need to spend so much money on weaponry maybe we could feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and heal the sick.
Sound Familiar ?

Just my 2 cents.

Larry III

[Seraph]

Originally posted by LarryIII
Why can't we all learn to live together and get along with one another.
Financially it would be cheaper in the long run if we could all learn to 'live and let live'.
If we did not need to spend so much money on weaponry maybe we could feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and heal the sick.
Sound Familiar ?

Just my 2 cents.

Larry III

Now we are talking!

If only everyone thinks and act on this, we can get rid of the idiots that cause trouble once in a blue moon.

Lwin

[Mr. Pockets]

Originally posted by Seraphim
I guess it all depends on what you see and what you are all used to seeing and what media wants you to see.
Lwin

Lwin, this is really the only sentence I have a problem with in your post. The rest is your personal, first-hand experience - which is far more than I have.

In this country we have free speech. Does the government meddle with things a little? Yeah - Black Hawk Down and Behind Enemy Lines were pushed to the screen by the feds. But 'the media' does not 'want' us to see anything but what WE want to see. As long as we pay attention, they keep showing us what we have already watched. That's not to say that innovation doesn't happen.

In terms of news coverage, this 'feed us what we want' survivalist mentality actually helps us see as much of the truth as possible. Every network wants the exclusive story and none of them want to be caught with their pants down, missing details others have picked up.