Action and Reaction

Yesterday I was catching up on world happenings by listening to NPR. The Under Secretary of Defense for Policy for President Bush, Douglas Feith, was on that hour to promote his new book War and Decision. He worked with the President from 2001 to 2005 so he was very much involved in the decisions made by the US government in the aftermath of 9/11.

I don't take political sides and I don't have an opinion on whether going to war in the middle east was right or not but this man said something in regards to the war that was brilliant. It didn't matter so much that he was talking about politics or the war but what he said hit my heart.

Feith made the comment that President Bush reacted to the attacks in a way that no other president of the United States has ever acted before. In the aftermath of 9/11 Bush's concerns were not with retaliation but with the prevention of a second act of terrorism. Many people were thrown off course because presidents before him, when faced with similar situations, made decisions based on revenge. This time it had to be different. If we wanted America to remain stable then actions needed to be taken in order to prevent another attack. Feith then went on to say that the whole of the United States was not shaken by the events of 9/11. Yes, everybody who was alive to remember that day has emotions about it but if you were not directly affected by the events (you were or had a loved one who was in the buildings, on the planes, a firefighter/police officer, or part of the armed forces) then the majority of your life was not affected. He says that the United States was not affected in a certain capacity because of the way that we reacted in the moments after.

Forgive me for only giving you a brief synopsis of the radio conversation but the point that I am really concerned with is the one that Feith made about the way our lives were affected due to our reactions.

That's huge, I think. Feel free to take that statement and apply it to any part of your life. When things happens to you that are less than desirable you have to make a decision about how you will carry on. Will you react in a way that allows you to say, 10 years from now, that your life is still stable and good because you took the steps necessary to prevent any further attacks?

Personally I have gone both ways. There are decisions that I've made that have only caused more damage and there are decisions I have made that have saved me from having to fight a battle on my own land, in my own heart. Next time I'm faced with an event that alters my life I'll definitely be keeping Feith's words in mind.

To every action there is a reaction. Your reactions affect what you are saying, doing, and feeling 10+ years from now.

**This is not meant to downplay the serious emotional pain that the attacks of 9/11 caused for so many people. We will never forget those who lost their lives.