Connect With Us on Twitter
For Op-Ed, follow @nytopinion and to hear from the editorial page editor, Andrew Rosenthal, follow @andyrNYT.
Re "Why, God?," by Maureen Dowd (column, Dec. 26):
The loss of a loved one in the natural course of things carries with it one kind of emotional pain. The unnatural loss of innocent children, known or unknown to us, carries with it another, perhaps a more universal sense of loss and sadness, especially when we know in our hearts that we did not do all we could to protect them, that we let them down when they needed us most.
God makes no secret of the presence of death. It surrounds us every day and is inevitable for all. Some die after many decades of life lived to the fullest, some after only a few moments. I have been taught not to ask why, that there are questions to which we do not demand an answer. God makes some decisions on his own.
However, when it comes to one another, no question is too big. Indeed, we are responsible to one another, and shame on us when we shy away from that duty. I have heard the reasons we allow dangerous weapons to pervade our lives. They amount to false principles, and by hiding behind them, we let down the children and those who were left to try to defend them, who died at young ages as a result.
In the face of what we allowed to happen, it is God who will have questions. We are left with the pain of our own failures. I pray that we do better.
BRUCE NEUMAN
Sag Harbor, N.Y., Dec. 26, 2012
To the Editor:
I have been thinking a great deal about tragedy, since I, too, lost a beloved child suddenly. This past week I recognized that the single saving factor for me was the unconditional love of my friends and their constant support.
That love put tragedy in perspective. There were people I knew 20 years before whose children I had taught who came and offered loving solace. They truly were God incarnate, just as cruelty and cynicism are the opposite. We need to remember that we are the vehicles of God's word.
It is a tough lesson to learn. However, when love surrounds you in its light, the darkness dissipates, and you can move on to the next phase of your life. You are not stultified by tragedy.
ANN ILTON
Boca Raton, Fla., Dec. 26, 2012
To the Editor:
Too often we allow religion to be an excuse for inaction. When there is a difficult issue to address like mass killings, well-intentioned people and clergy will say the same thing: We can't understand why, but God's love will help us through it.
From a societal point of view, that answer isn't enough. If one believes that God works through us, then you can believe that he works through us to solve problems, not to sit by and watch preventable tragedies go on unchecked. Despite the ranting of the National Rifle Association that people, not guns, kill people, the simultaneous attacks on schoolchildren in Connecticut and China clearly demonstrate that people kill people much more effectively with Bushmaster .223 caliber rifles.
So what is God going to work through us to do about that?
BRIAN BROKER
Phoenixville, Pa., Dec. 26, 2012
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Letters: Seeking Answers After Newtown
Dengan url
http://opinimasyarakota.blogspot.com/2012/12/letters-seeking-answers-after-newtown.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Letters: Seeking Answers After Newtown
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Letters: Seeking Answers After Newtown
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar