TO FORGIVE OR TO REVENGE?

Exactly 9 years ago, America- a nation who's slogan is "In God We Trust" decided not to trust in God anymore and take matters into their hands due to a provocation on U.S soil. So they attacked Afghanistan and later launched an attack on Iraqi.Today many years later, many lives have been lost,fear has been sown worldwide, a recession has occurred that can be linked with the wars, and no nuclear weapons have been found. A Chinese proverb says- The man who strikes first admits that his ideas have given out.

Its what happens when man decides to leave God out of the matter and take laws into his own hands. We listened to George W. Bush, a man who's I.Q is unquestionably low if judging by his utterances and speeches. At the slightest provocation, agreed 3000 lives were lost, however a America with its bruised ego decided to abandon the principles of Christianity. Principles that propagate the need for forgiveness being superior than revenge and if a man should strike you on one cheek turn the other cheek. We decided to go against our better judgement and follow the lead of a spoiled heir to the White House and attack a small country and later went ahead to help the same man complete a mission his father couldn't accomplish- dethroning Saddam Hussein.

All that's history now though- the over $3 trillion dollars, over 5,000 U.S military lives that have been lost and an uncountable number of innocent civilian lives that have been lost in the past, are currently being lost even as I write this article and will continue to be lost in suicide bombings in Iraq and Afghanistan.

We can't rewind the past but we can learn lessons from it. Forgiveness is easier, cheaper and in the long run more effective than revenge. It doesn't always appear so, especially when your ego is hurting but take some Valium get some rest and you'll feel better when the pain goes. Forgiveness makes the offender have a bitter after taste of the poison he prepared for his victim.

I guess the Bible is right, I never quite understood it before when in Romans 12:20 it was said-"If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." I never quite did get it back then but now I do! The Bible said this in a context of not necessarily to consume, but to melt him into kindness; a metaphor taken from smelting metallic ores:So artists melt the sullen ore of lead by heaping coals of fire upon its head. In the kind warmth the metal learns to glow, and pure silver is the result. But rather than heaping coals on Osama's head, Bush heaped bombs on his sympathizers and country men.

I bet if George Bush made a speech after the bomb blasts and vowed to find the culprits and get Osama Bin Laden and not focus on getting back at their respective nations and friends, the world would be a better place and well-meaning Muslims would find a new respect and love for Christianity and that act would even bring others to conversion.

But America failed to live up to its Christianity and showed itself to be hypocrites and has lost a good share of the goodwill it has across the world. They've come out of this situation looking like an Imperialist nation eager to show their military prowess at the expense of their moral values. I probably won't get a U.S visa after this but truth be told,I can't be bothered. There's always Dubai...

Its been 9 years now since America under Bush labelled the Muslims terrorists and managed to create a polarized opinion on what being a Muslim really means amongst the 400million Americans. Its time to move on- depraved individuals masquerading as pastors like Reverend Jones and his Quran burning campaign team must be read the Riot Act and imprisoned. We must learn to focus on what we have in common and not bicker over our differences.

America gave us cigarettes that kills thousands of people yearly yet complain that Afghanistan has opium and want to regulate its trade and ban it. America has nuclear weapons and bickered and later lashed out wildly when in someone's figment of imagination- Iraq had nuclear weapons. Now they've been proven wrong! Did the Muslim world complain and lash out equally by stopping their oil trade supply to America? No!

Maybe the 1.5 billion Muslims in the world have a better grasp on the concept of forgiveness than they're given credit for? Perhaps America needs a Renaissance and rediscover the truth that we can't all be like them or the world would be a very flat dry place with only burgers, fake breasts implants, movies, cigarettes and I-Pods for fun!

No one ever truly felt better after achieving revenge. You get even and so what? Forgiveness trumps revenge everyday and twice on Sundays. We must learn to live together and tolerate one another. Having said that I must say the best way to commemorate the souls lost on September 11th 2001 is to approve the building of a multi-religious center to show true unity and start heaping the symbolic coals on the head of terrorists! To talk goodness is not good...Only to do it is.

Ebuka Anichebe