John Mahon: In search of vengeance, justice and forgiveness

The events of Sept. 11 have touched everyone in this great nation -- and more directly and personally than we might have expected. The level of destruction and loss of life have cast a shroud of sadness across the country that can be felt in every corner. This sadness has descended upon us in two distinct waves.

The first wave was the coverage of the actual unfolding of events. We were all glued to our televisions for visual pictures and rich verbal descriptions of aircraft crashing into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon. We then followed the collapse of the towers, the billowing smoke of the Pentagon and the efforts of firefighters, police and other rescue workers to aid victims and search for those who might be trapped in the rubble.

Although this coverage was compelling, the impact of the tragedy was not personal, as it did not link us to the loss of individual life. It was a disaster of epic proportions, but it was not personal.

The second wave drowned us in the deep, personal and poignant sorrow of individual loss. Stories of everyday people, sobbing and in tears, asking for help in finding out what happened to their loved ones were presented. Stories of heroism and bravery abounded, further accentuating the individual and personal impact of the events on all of us.

It was this level of coverage that made the destruction personal for all of us. No one watching could be distant or aloof from this loss of life on an individual, personal level. It is crucial that we remember the anguish and agony these events have caused the nation, families and individuals who are innocent victims.

As the rescue and cleanup efforts continued, the focus of discussion and analysis shifted to the nature of our response as a nation to these events. The language of response has been emotional and provocative, calling to mind Pearl Harbor and the notion that we are at war. There seems to be a growing broad consensus that the nation needs to respond rapidly, and that this response should be in the form of significant military action. Simply put, why?

Why do we need to respond quickly? What is gained in a rapid response other than a sense of vengeance? Taking time to consider our options and the range of alternative responses would be time wisely spent.

For example, what are the likely impacts of a military action in an Islamic nation on the stability of other Islamic governments in the Middle East? If we engage in military action that is significant we will inevitably cause the loss of innocent human life. Do we want to visit the anguish and agony that we have suffered in the loss of innocent life on others?

What we want, and in keeping with the highest traditions of this nation, is justice, not vengeance. The pillars of this nation are based on that notion.

As a nation, we are being challenged to be true and faithful to our beliefs. Justice demands in our society that individuals be brought to trial before their peers and that such action is undertaken with due process that insures fairness and equity. These principles are not meant to be ignored in situations because they are inconvenient or difficult to observe. To do so is a fundamental prostitution of what this nation has stood for since its founding.

If we engage in capricious military action with accompanying loss of innocent life and the imposition of personal anguish and agony on the survivors, we are no better than those who carried out the attacks on Tuesday. We need to be careful and take heed of what one of the ministers observed at the national prayer service in Washington on Friday, "that as we act, we do not become the evil we deplore."

Indeed, we are afforded a great opportunity here to act, but to act with compassion and forgiveness. In so doing, we would honor more deeply those whose lives have been lost, and provide a ringing affirmation that their deaths were not in vain. We would show that as a nation of diverse individuals, we hold the freedoms upon which it is based worthy of support, even in times of trial.

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