Matter of Choice…
Next
week my long standing agreement with life will come into its 65th
year and I hope to sign a sizeable extension; this is a lot of time, especially
for someone who keeps thinking he turned 29 just yesterday… 50 years ago, as a
15 year old, I came into this wonderful country and this bears some reflection
on this sad and special day…
This
morning when my eyes opened, as many of my fellow US citizens have done, my
lips elevated a prayer to Our Father; in my case, besides expressing a deeply
felt, sad remembrance as to what happened 10 years ago, asking for his
forgiveness and also for the understanding to be able to manage what I see and
experience on a daily basis.
50
years ago, my parents (actually my
grandfather and mother) made a choice; granted, this was not one in which I
was consulted, but it was a choice made for specific reasons. One of them? So
that I would have a chance at making my own choices as my life developed; they
foresaw this would not be possible under the then new regime. Have I made them?
Every day and every minute. Study, play, relate, run away, not run away… work,
quit work, start again… meet my father, not meet him… care enough for someone
else so as to undercut my own possibilities in order to be there…
Have
they been good choices? Some have brought good results, some have been
indifferent and many have had disastrous results. But they were my choices to
make and a learning process which allows me to actually analyze issues and
think. And every time the consequences of one of the disastrous choices has had
to be faced, there is also the choice of ignoring these… but I choose not have
this be a viable course of action.
My
choices in life included that of becoming a citizen of this country. This was
done after a tour of duty in the US Army, at a time this was not desirable or
acceptable for many. So I guess it was a mutual liking. Is our U.S. of A. a
perfect place to be? It has had its failures and its achievements; as with most
individuals there have been choices made by different governments (no monopoly on bad choices here)which
have brought bad results but the country has, as many of us have also done,
faced these failures and gone on with its life; hopefully learning a little
more from each of these reverses.
 |
| 9/11/2001 |
All
of us who now live here and call it our home, know that the failures and
successes of several generations of immigrants (only those wrongly called “Indians” –native Americans- were here at the
beginning) have molded this which we call our home. Throughout history, those who have come to
these shores usually came from another place where “choice” was at the time not
available; often it may have been the simple choice of eating… there being no
food, there was no choice. They came, hoping to find this elusive bit of
freedom here and, in fact, did so. Not easily, for that which is sought after
usually does not lie there just waiting to be found. Eventually, a written
Constitution guaranteed this right of choice, amongst other rights.
Ten
years ago, a group of mislead men chose to attack us on our own home ground;
they believed that by accomplishing this attack, the country representing
everything they hated as truly manipulated fanatics, would crumble. The damage
done was immense; the lives lost close to three thousand; the physical symbols
of the capital part of the world thought removed. Their leader, on learning of
the results of the choices he had made along the way, said in a communique that
these were “beyond expectations”.
What
happened? Did our country crumble? Did
we go into hiding, shaking in fear? These would have been understandable
choices, given the never before experienced situation and the resulting,
immediate chaos. Choices, once again.
 |
| 9/11/2011 |
It
takes many years of living in a societal structure like ours to even begin to
understand how it really works; how its make-up, and the people who are part of
it are interlaced to manage and to survive blows which, were they to happen in
most any other country, could indeed bring unmanageable decline and even, the
beginnings of anarchy. This is what most
of those who would want to see this country down, do not comprehend. We, as the individuals
who make it up, have the ability to make choices because WE, as a whole, are
the choice makers. We can choose to run and hide, or we can choose to
understand what has happened and proceed to build on it, no matter how
difficult it may prove to be. And this is the choice that was made ten years
ago. No matter what we were doing, or where we were at the time, this moment will live on in
our minds eye. Not to harvest it as a source of hatred; we understand this only
breeds decay and despair... better yet, as a source of inner strength that will feed us
and our determination to make our home a better one. The strength of each
individual is thus the strength of the country as a whole.
Choice.
A simple word but an immense concept. We, and our forefathers came to this
country to find it, enjoy it and exercise it. Don’t ever give it up; it is a source of strength and growth beyond anyone’s expectations.
Be
Well… Be Back!!
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