RAT more thoughts on the events at hand

[Catherine Fletcher <greatdismalswamp@yahoo.com>]

BCT'ers and RATS--

Weeks before the events of Tuesday unfolded, I was
deeply embroiled in what I can only describe as a
personal crisis of conscience about what it means to
be an American.  While this sounds a bit melodramtic,
it has been very real for me as I have struggled with
the notion of freedom: how free we are, why, and to
whom we extend those freedoms both at home and abroad.
 I have been struggling with the sacrifices we make in
the name of commerce, in the name of stability, and in
the name of political correctness.  We make choices
each and every day in the name of freedom, and
different types of freedom are important to different
people.

Now that the World Trade Center and the Pentagon have
been attacked, and thousands of human lives have been
lost, I feel that these type of questions:

What does America stand for?

What does it mean to be an American?

are more important than I ever could have imagined. 
At this moment, I urge us all to think about these
things, and to consider the words of someone who has
not only written about the ideals of freedom and art
and the transcendance of man but lived them: Vaclav
Havel.

"...the value of freedom is linked with
responsibility.  And if freedom has no such
responsibility associated with it, then it loses
content, it loses sense, and it also loses weight."

As we watch and wait, I also feel the need to ask a
question Abraham Lincoln asked in 1861:
 
"I appeal to you again to constantly bear in mind that
with you, and not with politicians, not with
Presidents, not with office-seekers, but with you, is
the question, 'Shall the Union and shall the liberties
of this country be preserved to the latest
generation?'"

As cynical as I am, my deepest heartfelt wish is that,
in this moment, we strive to live up to the ideals on
which the United States of America was founded, not
just for America, but for every human being.  I
believe, as artists, it is our responsibility to make
this happen.

Catherine Fletcher
Veritas filia temporis


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Terrorist Attacks on U.S. - How can you help?
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