It's been a year now since the entire world was jolted by three terrorist attacks on U.S. soil back-to-back, but, Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr. (D-1st) wonders if America has learned any lessons from the trials of terror and terrible tragedies.
With the memories of Sept. 11, 2001 continuing to haunt Americans, especially given the frequent warnings of possible terrorist threats from the government, Jackson asked: "One year later what have we learned and where should we be going?"
"We are learning not to take life, family and friends for granted. Many people seem to be putting new priorities in place -- family and friends over finance and fortune.
"We are living in greater fear -- which is neither healthy mentally nor politically (fearful people are much easier to manipulate).
In commemoration for the first anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, Chicago Human Relations Comm. Clarence N. Wood called on all citizens to participate in today's noon "hate-free" day of respect at Daley Plaza.
While Jackson is keynoting a Congressional Black Caucus Legislative forum in Washington, D.C. today, Mayor Richard M. Daley, Wood and religious leaders will honor the 9/11 victims in a special and prayerful way during a commemorative service.
To pay homage to the victims, the National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ), Chicago and Northern Illinois Region wrote the "Chicago Prayer of Unity, Remembrance and Hope."
However, Chicago resident Clint Harris, 42, and his 6-year-old daughter, sued the city, alleging Chicago had no right to read a prayer at a city-sponsored event.
But, U.S. District Judge Charles Norgle Sr., in a 12-page opinion, refused to ban the prayer for today's Sept. 11 memorial, saying this event "has a plainly secular purpose."
A victorious Mayor Daley will be passing out copies of this prayer to those attending the noon event and to area churches as well.
The Chicago Prayer of Unity, Remembrance and Hope September 11, 2002, states:
"Almighty and Ever Merciful God! We, Your children, reflecting the diversity of Your creation, stand together as sisters and brothers. With heavy hearts and bowed heads, we acknowledge our dependence upon You. May we experience Your loving presence as we gather with one another.
"Drawn together on this date, we are united in our sorrow, united in our memory, and united in our desire for peace, understanding, and healing. People throughout the world remember the shock, the suffering, and the heroism of a year ago. Our numbness has since given way to anger. "We confess we are angry that our ideals of community have come under siege, That the very freedoms our attackers shared with us, were used against us. Yet our anger impairs our ability to love our neighbor and frustrates our ability to mourn properly.
"We mourn with those who have lost loved ones, and for the good that might have been. We mourn with those who have lost their livelihood, and with those whose loss is greater than our own. We mourn for our lost sense of security and peace.
"Help us to overcome bitterness, so that we may turn sadness into resolve. May our suffering increase our determination to protect the defenseless. May our suffering inspire within us a new capacity to forgive, and make us a more understanding people.
"Guide our leaders to act with wisdom, justice, and compassion, even as they seek to safeguard us. Give us the courage to overcome injustice, wherever it is found. Help us combine our talents and resources to overcome the destructive forces of hatred and bigotry.
"Teach us to listen more attentively to one another, that we may be instruments of Your peace. Teach us to better understand one another's needs, that we may be instruments of Your healing. Teach us to encourage one another, that we may be instruments of Your assurance and hope.
"Despite our weakness, we have faith that with You, we are capable of goodness. Renew in us a passion to live according to the highest teachings of our respective faith traditions. Bind us together in unity; may our remembrance move us toward humility and justice. Above all, give us hope: Hope in each other, hope in the dawn of a new future.
Amen."
"I think that today should be a day where as a nation we all commit ourselves to all initiatives possible to stop hate between religions, races, ethnic groups, gender...," said Wood.
And that unity, Jackson said, must begin in the United States. And that while the political discussions before November may be about Bush's drumming up support to attack Iraq versus Social Security or a prescription drug benefit under Medicare, these homefront issues must first be resolved.
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