Mark et al,
I
guess I don’t really have NEGATIVE feelings about this statement,
particularly not in the context of Barry’s post. Yes, being forced to your knees involves
being lowered or weak,
but in Barry’s message he’s referring to kneeling in
prayer, which is in a sense weakness, but only in terms of acknowledging the
overwhelming strength of God and our insignificance in the face of it. It also has the historical connotation
(that I think is also involved in prayer) of kneeling to convey allegiance, to
receive honor, to petition a higher authority.
It
is not necessarily a posture of weakness, but certainly a posture of humility. Maya Angelou on Nightline last night said
quite profoundly that we must be concerned with and fight for justice, but we
must not espouse bitterness or vengeance.
Such things are empty in the end.
She also said that we should stop, and look at the disaster – see
ourselves in the disaster. Stop
until we can see ourselves in every clump of concrete, in every scrap of
twisted metal. Only then can we
rightly pursue justice, seated and fully at home in our selves and humility. We live in a time where people and
societies never act, only react. I
saw a sign on TV today that said something to the effect of “The Sleeping
Giant has awakened!”
Has it? Or is it just
twitching in its sleep?
I’m
not saying that we shouldn’t retaliate for these attacks, but I am saying
that we as Americans have the moral imperative to act in a manner that is
considered and just. And to bring
this back to the topic that got us here, maybe we can only properly and
resolutely stand if we have spent some time on our knees first?
Just thinking out loud…
Jefferson
-----Original Message-----
From:
owner-over-the-rhine at actwin_com [mailto:owner-over-the-rhine at actwin_com] On Behalf Of Black Draver
Sent: Saturday, September 15, 2001
7:53 PM
To: Barry S. Lawlor;
Over-the-Rhine at actwin_com
Subject: Re: Jerry and Pat
Barry S. Lawlor said:
>>We need
>>to be on our knees for each other,
Why does this phrase conjure up bad
feelings? Is it because being on your knees summons visions of being
lowered or weak? Does it bring any kind of negative thoughts to anyone
else or just me?
Mark