by John J. Morlino, Jr.

Founder of The ETHIC (The Essence of True Humanity Is Compassion)

 Along with the rest of the nation, I was horrified to learn of the shocking developments that unfolded on the morning of September 11, 2001. Shortly after the attacks, I found myself standing atop Prospect Hill, with a clear view of the Pentagon. What I saw was even more incomprehensible than what I had seen on the news. Fighting back tears, I asked myself: How could this have possibly happened? How could anyone even conceive of doing something like this? What did this say about the human condition? It was that last question that truly haunted me. It seemed impossible to hold onto the one notion that I had long subscribed to: That human beings are inherently good.

The United Nations had planned to recognize September 11, 2001 as an International Day of Peace. It was to be, in the words of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, a day on which "we try to picture those who wage war laying down their arms and talking out their differences." A day on which "we try to picture hatred turning into respect, bigotry turning into understanding, and ignorance turning into knowledge."

But sadly, at nearly every press conference that followed the assaults, words spoken by our political and military leaders were virtually indistinguishable from the rhetoric attributed to our attackers: Words such as hatred, evil, and revenge. And in a frightening moment of clarity, I was reminded of a quote from a former prisoner of conscience, Adam Michnik:

                    "When we assign all evil to one's foe, and all good to oneself,

                    we are already sowing the seeds of future hatred."

I'm not sure why I continued to watch the reports on television, but thankfully, I did. I  witnessed countless acts of courage and selflessness, by emergency workers and civilians, whose only motivation was to alleviate the suffering of other living beings - without regard for any of the differences that sometimes separate us from one another. What I saw was compassion displayed in its purest form. In the days that followed, I couldn't help but wonder: Which of these two strikingly different responses to this tragedy would come to define us as a nation? The answer is likely to determine our fate.

During the past twelve months, the United States has been involved in an undeclared War, seemingly growing larger in scope each day; India and Pakistan have been on the brink of nuclear annihilation; and human beings have been killing each other with terrifying regularity in South America, Africa, and the Middle East.

Martin Luther King once said: "Hatred and bitterness cannot cure the disease of fear ...Through violence you murder the hater, but you do not murder the hate."

Perhaps never before has it been so important for us to recognize that what we have before us is an opportunity: An opportunity to create a better world. And for us to do so, we need to answer the following questions: What kind of society do we wish to live in? What values do we want to pass along to our children? What kind of relationships do we wish to have with our fellow citizens of the world?

Nobel Peace Laureate,  Dr. Oscar Arias, has described peace as a choice, a conscious decision that involves hard work and perseverance. And it begins with each of us.

The immediate aftermath of our nation's crisis brought us in touch with some of our greatest virtues. In those moments, unconditional love and heartfelt concern for the well-being of others replaced self-interest and indifference; and we seemed to understand that the needs of all those who share this planet are inextricably linked.

Copyright 2002 John J. Morlino, Jr.

All rights reserved. May be reprinted with written permission from the author.

* Excerpted from an article that originally appeared as one of six essays in a special "Peace" edition of the VegNews (Oct. 2001), which included articles by The Dalai Lama, Arun Gandhi (grandson of Mohandas Gandhi), and Deepak Chopra.

John Morlino is an internationally known writer and speaker on the subjects of nonviolence and compassion.  He is the Founder of The Essence of True Humanity Is Compassion (The ETHIC).

For more information, please call:

1-866-THE-ETHIC (843-3844), Toll-free in the USA and Canada

or visit The ETHIC's website at: www.the-ethic.org