Keeping perspective

The President's Corner
from Network News, Fall 2001

After September 11:

Keeping a faithful perspective on the world
and gaining a new perspective on our church

by Jane Hanna, Witherspoon Society president

[posted here 11-7-01]

Everything we do, say, think or feel is filtered through the horror of September 11 and the weeks since. We have been shocked by unwarranted attacks, eroding our sense of security. We seem genuinely puzzled that anyone could hate America enough to inflict such death and devastation.

We have seen the best and worst of ourselves as the country responds to pain, confusion, fear, and uncertainty. "America strikes back" has not only become a motto; it describes the desire and decision to lash out in retaliation. We call those responsible for the attacks "fanatics," the "evil ones." President Bush refers to Osama bin Laden''s "terrorist training camps." (Might not victims of those trained at the US School of the Americas feel justified calling that institution and others like it our "terrorist training camps?") How do we define terror, civilized, security, and from whose perspective?

Unleashing bombs on Afghanistan, whose civilians have been impoverished for decades, does not make sense to me. The official explanation that we are taking out the evil Taliban government for its harsh rule and harboring of bin Laden begs scrutiny. If the Taliban are so obnoxious (and they are), why didn't our government urge reform sooner when women around the world sought help for our Afghan sisters? Why is this regime, owing its existence and power to US weapons and military training, suddenly the pariah? Just last May the US gave the Taliban over 40 million dollars to assist in eradicating drugs.

The Administration has tried to make clear that we are not fighting Muslims, that the Islamic faith is one of peace, that the terrorists in no way reflect the teachings of that faith. Distorted faith practiced by fundamentalists can emerge whenever people are convinced their religious interpretations and way of life are the acceptable ones to the exclusion of what others think. We claim Christianity to be a faith of peace yet we quickly jump into a war mentality in an attempt to control people and events.

I wonder if we may be in danger of becoming as irrational and fanatical as our assailants in the frenzied quest to assign blame and locate the guilty. All virtue seldom resides on one side. It is not unusual to mirror an adversary and become equally zealous and wrong. Retaliation cannot heal our nation''s wounds or advance a safer world.

As a nation we seem to have a new sense of urgency about prayer, but we sometimes seem to confuse faith with patriotism, asking God's help against enemies. "God bless America" hangs from buildings, adorns cars and T-shirts; it is the new advertising slogan to get us to buy. Patriotism can also become fanatic as the people of Berkeley, California have discovered in response to their city's resolution demanding a halt to the bombing in Afghanistan. Thousands of angry, alarmingly hateful letters and phone calls have been sent to the mayor's office as have boycott threats directed at the business community.

People ask, "Where was God on September 11?" Is the question prompted by a notion that God should have intervened and prevented American deaths? Does God bless only Americans? Distorted notions of the Christian faith are as invalid as those held by Islamic fundamentalists. Our questions ought to be "Where is the church, where have we been?" Have we who profess faith in a God who cares for the well being of all humanity been concerned about why over a billion people are starving, sick, displaced, and dying?

Wisdom suggests we examine the shadow side of our own mythology - our assumption that we are compassionate and generously share our bounty. Terrorists do not develop in a vacuum. The US is not hated for its freedom or even its wealth as some suggest. People throughout the world long to come here for what both have to offer of both freedom and material well-being. The roots of anti-American sentiment emerge from the impact of economic and political forces affecting people's lives and the natural resources on which their lives depend.

We have witnessed the terrible consequence of extreme fanaticism. Every religion and nationality harbors those who feel compelled, for whatever reasons, to force their views on others or destroy those they perceive to be wrong. We have our Timothy McVeighs, murderers of abortion providers, radio and TV evangelists and talk show hosts who spout hate against those with whom they disagree. The witness of many congregations has been compromised by decades of debate about how we profess faith rather than attending to how we practice it. Some called to serve the church are denied opportunity by those certain they know God's intent for human relationships. Shades of fundamentalism in our midst must not distract us from the biblical vision of a just and peaceful world where the needs of all become priority.

Jane Hanna