Patriots Day

Passing by a local elementary school early this morning I noticed the marquee was silhouetted in fog and lights and it said that today is Patriots Day. That makes me sad. For me it conjures up images of war and closed borders and exclusivity.

I'm sad for all the pain the memories of today cause for the people who lost friends and family on the planes and in the buildings that was 9/11/01. I'm sad about the tens of thousands who have been killed in the name of "battling evil" and in "the war on terror". I'm sad for the soldiers who've done the killing. I'm sad for the soldiers who've been killed. I'm sad about the deep divisions and hate between nations and peoples that war brings.

What if our president and the people of the United States would have answered the 9/11 attacks with forgiveness instead of war? What if we invaded Afghanistan and Iraq with love and food and forgiveness and the good news of the gospel we claim to have as a Christian nation?

I'm sad that if George Bush would have suggested that, he would probably have been impeached for treason.

I leave you, the reader, with the following two thoughts:

1) "The war on terror is wrapped up in the war on poverty." -Colin Powell

2) A terrorist wrote most of the new testament.