Normally, my mind is flooded with ideas for writing columns. I could pump out one a day if needed. But for a few weeks after the attacks of Sept. 11, I went blank. It all seemed pure minutia compared to the horrors that were committed.

When I think about major issues now — reparations for slavery, prayer in schools, racial profiling, legalizing marijuana, state lottery, political debate and etc. — I think, “Who cares?” It’s like complaining about blackheads when your spouse is dying of cancer.

A tragedy of gigantic proportions like this tends to put all matters into perspective. We all go about our daily lives in a zone, doing the basics every day, work, maintenance and taking our families for granted, because they are, well, just there. No more. Now, I have stepped back and realized what is most important in this world. Nothing comes close.

Love.

Preachers can preach, fist-pumpers can raise hell, generals can deploy armies and political leaders can inspire followers, but the single most powerful force anywhere, is Love.

Love is the first craving of the newborn and the last of the dying. Love is what all human beings seek to give and to receive throughout our lives. It is our basic nature. All of us, the bad and the good. Prisons are filled with people who never basked in the true meaning of love. Children who are deprived of love are often those who go astray. Children who abundantly experience love are the ones who grow into healthy adults. Love is the fuel of the soul. It is the ultimate need. And I would still like to believe that love conquers all.

No child is born a Christian, a Muslim a Jew or an atheist. No child is born with beliefs. They are but living computers who become indoctrinated by those who impose ideals of their choosing. Children born into the radical side of the Muslim faith virtually have no choice, because their minds will be manipulated from birth to love their own and hate others. By the time they are grown, the mind-set is fixed, and it’s really not their fault. We see, now, that a great population of haters have multiplied by the millions, all because they were indoctrinated into the extremist sect of their fathers.

I consider myself one of earth’s lucky people because I had a mother who taught me the virtues of understanding, to open my mind and to study all the religions, then choose. I was indoctrinated with love. I am grateful.

Many friends have said that God was with me that fateful day because my flight from England landed safely in Moncton, New Brunswick. Every time I hear that, I wonder why God wasn’t with the thousands of innocent people who were terrorized and snuffed out in one single episode of mass murder. I suppose there are answers, but it’s guesswork. We’ll never know for sure.

The world has been invaded, not by a foreign government, not by a political dissident, but by a virus that has infected at least 60 countries in this world. This virus won’t be dispatched with a simple antibiotic. It’s an evil that lurks in the shadows, camouflaged as you and me. Fanaticism is nothing new, but this brand of fanatics has proven they have the means to create havoc on this side of the Atlantic. This is no longer a distant television broadcast from Israel or Northern Ireland. It’s no longer about “them.” It’s about “us.”

My lifetime has seen many wars and conflicts — WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Grenada, Bosnia, Desert Storm, etc. — but they were always somewhere else. For the first time, I am frightened. In one way or another, we will all be touched. It is far from over.

Pundits of government, history, security, religion and morality from all corners of this nation are telling us what we should have done, what we should be doing, who is to blame. I am no different, one more voice among the “know-it-alls,” so I won’t bore you with my opinions about intelligence breakdowns, politics and the such. It is prudent, now, to accept the errors of our past, learn from them, and go forward, not backward. For certain, our government has heard the wake-up call like never before.

Patriotism has blossomed all over this nation like a field of flowers in spring, and it is good to see we are really one after all, regardless of race, creed, or religion. It’s good to see those flags flying.

The enemy should not underestimate the power of love that exists in this great nation. Since the eleventh of September, we have seen its emergence like a great sunrise over the eastern horizon, shining brighter than ever before. It is our greatest weapon. It makes us invincible.

Consider the final act of many victims in those moments of terror, in offices or on airplanes, picking up a telephone, desperate to call someone they cared about, knowing their deaths were but seconds away. In their last breaths, they all had but a single message to convey: “I love you.”

I cannot help but wonder how long it had been since they had spoken those words. Perhaps it’s time we all reflect. Why don’t we all lay this newspaper down for one moment, and look your spouse, your mother or father, your child, or your friend in the eyes, and utter those magic words: “I love you.”

(Marshall Frank is a retired Miami Dade law enforcement author and a novelist who lives in Maggie Valley. He can be reached at mlf238@aol.com)

 

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