tp85.xml
Title
tp85.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2003-02-28
TomPaine Story: Story
The 9-11 attacks have made contesting the issues of corporate globalization more vital than ever, for they have shifted the basis of legitimacy of the system from unfulfilled, discredited promises to fear. Fear of the terrorist enemy, fear of the unknown, fear of the repressive power of the system itself.
If we who value liberty and real democracy retreat now, the system will
consolidate its hold on every aspect of life and set the global agenda for
decades to come. Yet we are called to act at a time when action seems dangerous, frustrating and sometimes hopeless.
In an unsafe world in which we have real enemies, we cannot easily
delegitimize fear. But we can delegitimize the need to be ruled by fear, by acting strongly and visibly with courage, vision and love.
Acting from courage isn<pi>t easy, but we already know how to do it. In our
personal lives we face and overcome fear every day: the fear of making
mistakes, of failing, the fear of opening up to love for another vulnerable,
flawed and mortal human being.
When we act with courage, we feel good about ourselves, so good that we find the resources we need to face even violence and repression.
For the opposite of fear is love. Not abstract, insipid, greeting card
love, but gutsy, passionate, mother-tiger love, for the best of what America is supposed to represent, for that promise of liberty and justice for all that has never fully been realized.
That's the lesson I take from 9-11. To undermine a system based on fear, don't accept the limited choices it poses. Choose vision. Choose hope. When we do, we mobilize powers stronger than fear: the great invincible forces of creativity and love.
If we who value liberty and real democracy retreat now, the system will
consolidate its hold on every aspect of life and set the global agenda for
decades to come. Yet we are called to act at a time when action seems dangerous, frustrating and sometimes hopeless.
In an unsafe world in which we have real enemies, we cannot easily
delegitimize fear. But we can delegitimize the need to be ruled by fear, by acting strongly and visibly with courage, vision and love.
Acting from courage isn<pi>t easy, but we already know how to do it. In our
personal lives we face and overcome fear every day: the fear of making
mistakes, of failing, the fear of opening up to love for another vulnerable,
flawed and mortal human being.
When we act with courage, we feel good about ourselves, so good that we find the resources we need to face even violence and repression.
For the opposite of fear is love. Not abstract, insipid, greeting card
love, but gutsy, passionate, mother-tiger love, for the best of what America is supposed to represent, for that promise of liberty and justice for all that has never fully been realized.
That's the lesson I take from 9-11. To undermine a system based on fear, don't accept the limited choices it poses. Choose vision. Choose hope. When we do, we mobilize powers stronger than fear: the great invincible forces of creativity and love.
Collection
Citation
“tp85.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed May 3, 2024, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/791.