America's sin of omission

Garth A. Rattray

IT BEHOVES us to always look at the big picture regarding all things. A great sin was committed against man and God when terrorists destroyed the lives of thousands at the World Trade Center (WTC), New York City, and the livelihood of hundreds of thousands worldwide. They used commercial jets laden with fuel and innocent victims as missiles aimed at the financial heart of the world.

I'm still uncertain whether they should be considered as wolves (criminals) in sheep's ('religious') clothing or sheep in wolves' clothing. Either way the event has not only sparked terror throughout the world, it has also sparked the beginning of a series of events that may very well end up being the greatest sin of all.

Rightfully there is an unprecedented outpouring of sentimentalities towards the United States of America. All decent people of the world share her grief. The fragments from those two crashes found their way into almost every household of every nation on earth. It was a multinational, transgender, interdenominational, transatlantic, intercontinental, interracial, global tragedy of epic proportions.

And yet, amid the saline tears and acrid smells, her leaders need to seek after the deeper truth in order to prevent a recurrence of the events of September 11, 2001. Many introspective/self-analytical Americans are now asking the obvious questions, "Why do they hate us so?" "Where did we go wrong?" This may be paraphrased as, "Have we sinned?"

Whereas no one 'deserved' such a monstrously cataclysmic visitation, one can't help but ponder how this all may have been avoided. Moot point as it is now; perhaps the answer to this apparent enigma will lead to a peaceful future for the entire world. The bitter lessons learnt now are universally applicable and may serve us all well in our daily lives.

Sin is defined as a transgression against divine law or morality. There are sins of commission and sins of omission. We adjudge sins based on the religious and social teachings of the time and place. On the other hand God adjudges sins based upon immutable Spiritual and Cosmic laws. We are aware of some of those Spiritual and Cosmic laws and often we choose to ignore or blatantly disobey them, always to our own detriment. We cannot modify or in any way change any of God's laws. We, like the rest of the Universe, are subject to them.

Sin, in the broad sense of the word, constitutes our attempt at breaking God's laws. One very basic law states that we are supposed to help the less fortunate if at all possible. Superpower status carries with it superpower responsibilities. A world leader has to be prepared to lead not only financially but also morally and ethically as well. The abject poverty that exists in Afghanistan is nothing new; we are told that as a direct result of this the life-span of the average Afghan is a paltry 46 years. Were I an Afghan I would be expected to die at any moment now.

Destitute countries believe that for any country to get as rich as the USA some other country has to be as poor as Afghanistan. Their perception is that the more powerful countries siphon and hoard excessive wealth to the detriment of the weaker nations of the world. It is thought that rich nations either prey upon or ignore the poorer nations.

This atmosphere is very conducive to extreme animosity and people who have nothing (not even much of a life) have nothing to lose. There has been a very dangerous concoction of poverty, hopelessness, acrimony, religiosity and fanaticism brewing in Afghanistan for years.

It has always seemed strange to me that no great nation has ever seen it fit to directly 'invest' millions or even billions in humankind with no strings attached. The great powers assist only if it befits their economic, political or military goals. Instead they simply set up aid agencies that obviously meet with very limited success.

Unconditional acts of kindness would have diffused the enmity that exists and made it very difficult for an individual like Osama bin Laden to be a guest within Afghanistan.

The sin of omission has levied a hefty price indeed. America's sin of omission was the prelude to the unspeakable sin of commission in the WTC tragedy. Now the eagle has taken wings. Her steely eyes affixed on Osama bin Laden and Afghanistan, her heart driven by the wretched screams of those who would be avenged, her talons gleaming in the sun, thirsting for the blood of her enemies. She soars, held aloft by US$40 billion, a downpayment on an estimated US$100 billion or more designated for war. She does not hold an olive branch in her beak; instead there rests enough explosives to "bomb Afghanistan back into the Stone Age" as one reporter put it (although this is by no means her intention). Her mournful shriek has driven stark terror in the hearts of the lowly Afghan. Her cries for justice have spawned a tidal wave of fear among radical Islamic potentates.

Through it all I have a sinking feeling that this is precisely what Osama bin Laden and his followers (Al Qaeda) want. They must know that America would be compelled to do something. She in fact seems prepared to do everything.

Sometime in the not-too-distant future scholars and school children alike will read of this time in the history of the world. They will see what many find impossible to discern at this time. They will see the terrorists' greater plan with crystal clarity, the kind of clarity that only hindsight can bestow. A great nation wasn't prepared to selflessly spend millions in saving a poor nation in need of help; now aggrieved she can find many billions to wage 'war' in that same poverty-stricken region.

In spite of her righteous cause, in spite of her need to defend herself, in spite of her desire to attain long-term peace, she may well find herself labelled as the vengeful nation that initiated an Islamic Jihad. The USA has to be careful of her actions and remain cognisant of all the possible repercussions. I am of the strong opinion that she has taken the bait and is once again about to initiate another prelude to sin.

Dr. Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice.

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