After 9/11 some friends and I started a small ad campaign to raise awareness for peace and hope in the face of terror, rather than the destruction and war we saw looming ahead in the eyes of those around us. We were overwhelmed by the response of our neighbors and our country, so we raised some money to buy ad space on a few City buses. I can't tell you how much better I felt, putting my energy into something hopeful and compassionate in the face of such death and destruction. We raised some money for humanitarian causes, but personally the main benefit for me was to focus on hope rather than despair.
This morning on NPR I heard a voice say: "There is no hope in terrorism, nor any future in it worth living. And it is hope that is the alternative to this hatred, so we offer today this contrast with the politics of terror." It was Prime Minister Tony Blair, commenting on the G8's announcement - one day after the London bombings - that they are increasing aid to African nations, erasing the debt of some poor nations, and spending $3 billion to help build a Palestinian state.
I haven't fully explored the goings on of the G8 other than reading the Washington Post article. The news is not all good (global warming anyone?), but this response in the wake of violence, hatred and destruction is so refreshing. Hope. Love. Compassion.
"All of this does not change the world," Blair said. "It is a beginning, not an end. None of it today will match the same ghastly impact of terror. But it has a pride, a hope, a humanity at its heart." And so it does.
This guy is smiling down on us, I think.
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