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> W.W.J.D.? > Stephanie Salter > Sunday, December 23, 2001 > ©2001 San Francisco Chronicle > > URL: > >http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/12/23/ED68324.DTL > > My dear brother George: > > May the peace of our Lord (and me) be upon you in this celebration > season of my birth. > > You have been much in my heart of late. Partly this is because I know > the crushing pressure you feel as leader of the richest and most powerful > nation on Earth. > > Also, it is impossible not to think of you: Millions of people -- > millions, George -- pray for you every day. People of all faiths and > denominations. People in countries you have never visited. > > Even people who believe in no God offer up prayers of hope when they > hear you speak or see you on television because you hold their fate in your > hands. > > Since Sept. 11, dear brother, I have noticed that you have turned away > from me. I do not hear you ask yourself or anyone else the question you once > asked all the time: "What would Jesus do?" > > Remember, George? It was so familiar, it became an abbreviation: > W.W.J.D.? When you ran for president, you told the world I was your favorite > philosopher. > > I know why you turned away. To face me, and all that I demand of those > who follow me, requires tenacious courage and, in politics, a kind of > leadership that is rare. > > Some very sick, twisted and hate-filled men have inflicted great > suffering upon you and your people. They have murdered in the name of The > One Who Creates All, and they seem determined to go on murdering. > > You want not only to keep them from hurting you again, you and your > nation's people want to hurt them back. And you are willing to rationalize > all manner of destruction, waste and -- if necessary -- killing toward those > ends. > > Dear brother, you are right to want to stop evil. The tricky part for > humans has always been, what is the best way to stop it? My four-letter > answer is written, over and over, in the Bible, but it has been ignored by > potentates, peons and sometimes popes for 2,000 years. > > Why? Because it contradicts the human instinct for vengeance. > > Our Father said, "Vengeance is mine," George, not, "Vengeance belongs > to those who have been wronged." Vengeance is never the answer to "What > would Jesus do?" Especially vengeance that masquerades as "justice." > > This is why I came, remember? Why I grew from Baby Jesus to Christ who > suffered humiliation, unspeakable physical pain and a heart that was broken > more times than there are stars in the skies. > > As one who has accepted me as the light and the way, George, you have a > great opportunity -- and a duty -- to show the world my way. The way of > love. > > As you know, I never said it would be easy. > > Following me means forsaking the desire to hurt back, to rob your > enemies of their humanness, even when their inhuman acts aim to rob you of > yours. It means refusing to buy the Great Lie of evil -- that true peace and > justice can be achieved through deliberate and systematic violence. > > It means enduring the insults of angry and frightened people who > wrongly equate "love thine enemies" with "have no spine." > > To borrow from our holy brother Mahatma Gandhi, following me means > donning the heavy cloak of peace and wearing it forever -- not just when it > is convenient, or when you are watching someone else's war. > > "Blessed are the peacemakers," was not a throw-away line I mumbled to > Matthew. In Proverbs, "Seek peace and pursue it" listed no exemptions for > world leaders. > > Dear brother, as you celebrate my birth and reflect upon my life, I beg > you, reverse the course. Pursue peace with the fervor, and resources, with > which you now pursue our damaged and insane brother Osama bin Laden and the > infested souls who follow his malicious path. They may be beyond reason and > love, but millions more are not. > > For God's sake, George, for the sake of your nation's future, face me > again and ask what I would do. > > ©2001 San Francisco Chronicle Page D - 4 > ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9WB2D Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
