[NEohioPAL]an article - THE LESSON, by Leonard Pitts, Jr.

Thu Sep 13 22:27:04 PDT 2001

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THE LESSON
By Leonard Pitts Jr. 
>Syndicated columnist 
>  
>They pay me to tease shades of meaning from social and cultural issues, to 
>provide words that help make sense of that which troubles the American 
>soul. 

>But in this moment of airless shock when hot tears sting disbelieving eyes, 
>the only thing I can find to say, the only words that seem to fit, must be 
>addressed to the unknown author of this suffering. 
> 
>You monster. You beast. You unspeakable bastard. 
> 
>What lesson did you hope to teach us by your coward's attack on our 
>World Trade Center, our Pentagon, us? What was it you hoped we would learn? 
>Whatever it was, please know that you failed. 
> 
>Did you want us to respect your cause? You just damned your cause. 
> 
>Did you want to make us fear? You just steeled our resolve. 
> 
>Did you want to tear us apart? You just brought us together. 
> 
> Let me tell you about my people. We are a vast and quarrelsome family, a 
family
> rent by racial, cultural, political and class division, but a family 
nonetheless. We're 
> frivolous, yes, capable of expending tremendous emotional energy on pop 
cultural 
> minutiae, a singer's revealing dress, a ball team's misfortune, a cartoon 
mouse. 
> 
>We're wealthy, too, spoiled by the ready availability of trinkets and 
material goods, 
> and maybe because of that, we walk through life with a certain sense of 
blithe 
> entitlement. We are fundamentally decent, though -- peace-loving and
> compassionate. We struggle to know the right thing and to do it. And we 
are, the 
> overwhelming majority of us, people of faith, believers in a just and 
loving God. 
> 
>Some people - you, perhaps - think that any or all of this makes us weak. 
>You're mistaken. We are not weak. Indeed, we are strong in ways that 
>cannot be measured by arsenals. 
> 
>Yes, we're in pain now. We are in mourning and we are in shock. We're still 
>grappling with the unreality of the awful thing you did, still working to 
>make ourselves understand that this isn't a special effect from some 
>Hollywood blockbuster, isn't the plot development from a Tom Clancy novel. 
> 
>Both in terms of the awful scope of its ambition and the probable final 
>death toll, your attacks are likely to go down as the worst acts of 
>terrorism in the history of the United States and, indeed, the history 
>of the world. You've bloodied us as we have never been bloodied before. 
> 
>But there's a gulf of difference between making us bloody and making us 
>fall. This is the lesson Japan was taught to its bitter sorrow the last 
>time anyone hit us this hard, the last time anyone brought us such abrupt 
and 
>monumental pain. When roused, we are righteous in our outrage, terrible 
>in our force. When provoked by this level of barbarism, we will bear any 
>suffering, pay any cost, go to any length, in the pursuit of justice. 
> 
>I tell you this without fear of contradiction. I know my people, as you, 
>I think, do not. What I know reassures me. It also causes me to tremble 
>with dread of the future. 
> 
>In days to come, there will be recrimination and accusation, fingers 
>pointing to determine whose failure allowed this to happen and what can be 
>done to prevent it from happening again. There will be heightened 
>security, misguided talk of revoking basic freedoms. We'll go forward from 
this 
>moment sobered, chastened, sad. But determined, too. Unimaginably 
determined. 
> 
>You see, there is steel beneath this velvet. That aspect of our character is 
>seldom understood by people who don't know us well. On this day, the 
>family's bickering is put on hold. As Americans we will weep, as Americans 
>we will mourn, and as Americans, we will rise in defense of all that we 
cherish. 
> 
>Still, I keep wondering what it was you hoped to teach us. It occurs to me 
>that maybe you just wanted us to know the depths of your hatred. 
> 
>If that's the case, consider the message received. And take this message 
>in exchange: You don't know my people. You don't know what we're about. You 
>don't know what you just started. 
> 
>But you're about to learn. 

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<HTML>THE LESSON
 By Leonard Pitts Jr. 
 >Syndicated columnist 
 >  
 >They pay me to tease shades of meaning from social and cultural issues, to 
 >provide words that help make sense of that which troubles the American 
 >soul. 
 
 >But in this moment of airless shock when hot tears sting disbelieving eyes, 
 >the only thing I can find to say, the only words that seem to fit, must be 
 >addressed to the unknown author of this suffering. 
 > 
 >You monster. You beast. You unspeakable bastard. 
 > 
 >What lesson did you hope to teach us by your coward's attack on our 
 >World Trade Center, our Pentagon, us? What was it you hoped we would learn? 
 >Whatever it was, please know that you failed. 
 > 
 >Did you want us to respect your cause? You just damned your cause. 
 > 
 >Did you want to make us fear? You just steeled our resolve. 
 > 
 >Did you want to tear us apart? You just brought us together. 
 > 
 > Let me tell you about my people. We are a vast and quarrelsome family, a family
 > rent by racial, cultural, political and class division, but a family nonetheless. We're 
 > frivolous, yes, capable of expending tremendous emotional energy on pop cultural 
 > minutiae, a singer's revealing dress, a ball team's misfortune, a cartoon mouse. 
 > 
 >We're wealthy, too, spoiled by the ready availability of trinkets and material goods, 
 > and maybe because of that, we walk through life with a certain sense of blithe 
 > entitlement. We are fundamentally decent, though -- peace-loving and
 > compassionate. We struggle to know the right thing and to do it. And we are, the 
 > overwhelming majority of us, people of faith, believers in a just and loving God. 
 > 
 >Some people - you, perhaps - think that any or all of this makes us weak. 
 >You're mistaken. We are not weak. Indeed, we are strong in ways that 
 >cannot be measured by arsenals. 
 > 
 >Yes, we're in pain now. We are in mourning and we are in shock. We're still 
 >grappling with the unreality of the awful thing you did, still working to 
 >make ourselves understand that this isn't a special effect from some 
 >Hollywood blockbuster, isn't the plot development from a Tom Clancy novel. 
 > 
 >Both in terms of the awful scope of its ambition and the probable final 
 >death toll, your attacks are likely to go down as the worst acts of 
 >terrorism in the history of the United States and, indeed, the history 
 >of the world. You've bloodied us as we have never been bloodied before. 
 > 
 >But there's a gulf of difference between making us bloody and making us 
 >fall. This is the lesson Japan was taught to its bitter sorrow the last 
 >time anyone hit us this hard, the last time anyone brought us such abrupt and 
 >monumental pain. When roused, we are righteous in our outrage, terrible 
 >in our force. When provoked by this level of barbarism, we will bear any 
 >suffering, pay any cost, go to any length, in the pursuit of justice. 
 > 
 >I tell you this without fear of contradiction. I know my people, as you, 
 >I think, do not. What I know reassures me. It also causes me to tremble 
 >with dread of the future. 
 > 
 >In days to come, there will be recrimination and accusation, fingers 
 >pointing to determine whose failure allowed this to happen and what can be 
 >done to prevent it from happening again. There will be heightened 
 >security, misguided talk of revoking basic freedoms. We'll go forward from this 
 >moment sobered, chastened, sad. But determined, too. Unimaginably determined. 
 > 
 >You see, there is steel beneath this velvet. That aspect of our character is 
 >seldom understood by people who don't know us well. On this day, the 
 >family's bickering is put on hold. As Americans we will weep, as Americans 
 >we will mourn, and as Americans, we will rise in defense of all that we cherish. 
 > 
 >Still, I keep wondering what it was you hoped to teach us. It occurs to me 
 >that maybe you just wanted us to know the depths of your hatred. 
 > 
 >If that's the case, consider the message received. And take this message 
 >in exchange: You don't know my people. You don't know what we're about. You 
 >don't know what you just started. 
 > 
 >But you're about to learn. 
 </HTML>

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