NOTE: THE FOLLOWING REMARKS WERE DERIVED FROM A PRESENTATION MADE BY DR. PARHAM AT THE CEREMONY OF PRAYER AND REFLECTION, HELD ON THE CAMPUS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2001. THEY HAVE BEEN EXPANDED FOR THIS COMMENTARY.

We come to this place, in a park named for our first chancellor, on a campus we love, in a county blessed with extreme affluence, to pray and to reflect. We pray for our fallen countrymen and women, whose lives have been cut short by extreme examples of people's inhumanity toward others. We offer prayer for those professionals who risked and gave their lives while trying to assist in the rescue efforts. We offer prayer for all of the families whose hearts ache with the grief and pain that death brings. And we pray that the Creator will visit that empty place inside their hearts where tears are born, and give them comfort, and a rock to cling to in the storms this tragedy has brought.

We gather this day, not simply to denounce terrorism and the senseless violence that contaminates our world, but to mourn the loss of life and loss of innocence that our nation has suffered. We assemble at this time, not merely as individuals from different divisions of this institution, or different statuses on campus, or different demographic characteristics of race, class, religious-faiths, gender, or physical abilities, but as a single community. We are a community united by our common bond of sadness, connected by our profound sense of confusion, linked by our pointed tongues of anger and outrage, and joined by our desire to offer comfort and support to those who have experienced loss first hand. But, despite the fact that we have been humbled by apparent exposure and vulnerability as a nation and a people, we are heartened by countless acts of courage and bravery , inspired by the spirit of help and volunteerism that has swept our cities, and determined in our resolve to never allow misery to have the last word.

Standing here in the shadows of one of our nation's worst domestic tragedies tests the faith of each of us, and forces us to confront and question what we really believe. Do we believe in the Creator's mercy? Do we trust that the Creator has prepared aspecial place for those whose lives ended too soon? Do we believe in the ideals of freedom, equality, and justice for all? If we have no faith, then our sorrow is great indeed. If we have no faith, then the pain we feel becomes more piercing and penetrating, for it signifies that the physical remains of the crash victims are all that is left. And the rubble of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon are testimony to the triumph of terrorism. But, if we believe in what we profess: that the Creator in Heaven (whatever we call him or her) is the ultimate good. If we believe what we profess: that there is a spiritual peace at the end of life's journey. If we believe what we profess: that America is one of the greatest nations on Earth and the Star Spangled Banner still waves amid the treachery and tyranny of terrorism. Then,... our pain, anger and grief must be mixed with the recognition that God will reward our fallen brethren, and this nation will rise up and ascend to its rightful place of rulership and mastery of the ideals of freedom and democracy.

 Reflecting on this tragedy also challenges us to make difficult choices. Quite naturally, an attack on our freedom provokes a reaction that is understandably defensive and filled with the aggressiveness of reciprocal hostility. And yet, I pray today that our pain will not plunge us into the depths of despair, where our behaviors and attitudes begin to mirror those of the people whose acts we find so despicable. That is not the American ideal, and that certainly is not our truest self. For in the minutes, hours and days following the tragedy, I, like you witnessed out truest selves: That self that found the ability to persevere in the face of adversity...that self that showed hope in the face of despair...that self that showed courage in the face of fear...and that self that found compassion in the face of insensitivity. And so, we must decide if we choose: love over hate, civility over disrespect, measured defensiveness over reckless retribution, and embracing humanity over inhumaneness.

In recapturing these thoughts, I am reminded as I write these remarks, of other tragedies in our distant past which have shaken individuals and communities across this nation: The bomb blast in a church in Birmingham, Alabama that took the lives of four little girls; The rioting, murder, and burning of homes and businesses in the "Black Wallstreet" section of Tulsa, Oklahoma in the 1920's that took hundreds and maybe thousands of lives; The murder of young Emit Till, or the freedom riders: Swerner, Goodman, and Chenney in the 1960's; the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King; the beating of Rodney King; the bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City; or the brutality reaped on a Haitian immigrant who was assaulted by the New York Police. Each of these incidents, and countless others too numerous to name here, struck at the very core of our nations soul.

Each of these tragedies singed the fabric of our decency, as people personally and collectively affected by the events struggled to hold back their justified anger and rage. Yet, despite the volatility of our spirits at each of those spaces in time, people were advised to wait on justice. Despite the instinct to retaliate, people were advised to exercise patience. Despite the impulse to strike back with a reciprocal vengeance, people were advised and policed into showing restraint. Why? Because America is a land where justice is a practice we usually insist on, and not a principle that can be tucked away because it runs contrary to our blind thirst for military retaliation.

Well, if patience was good enough for the people of Tulsa, can it be any less beneficial for America now? If restraint was good enough for the African descent people in Birmingham, can it be any less appropriate for our nation now? If waiting on justice and trusting in the CREATOR was good enough for a people in agony and grief over assassinations, murder, and brutality, can it be any less comforting for America in this hour of pain? America has never been a land that preached retaliation. We have never been a society that advocated discarding systems of justice in favor of vigilantism. And we can never be the moral leaders we pride ourselves on being if we only seek to strike back at those who perpetrated these evil acts of terrorism without regard for the lands we may destroy, or the innocent people we may hurt in the process. I am not advocating engaging in a process of denial, or acting as if we as Americans are willing to tolerate assaults on our safety and security as a people and a nation. I only hope and implore our leaders to think carefully about the full range of available options, and not proceed with a war like mentality that shows no regard for the consequences that may haunt us, and other civilized societies, for decades to come.

And so, I close today, with a strength and resolve to not allow my pain and sorrow to be blunted by the hardened planks of denial. There is nothing normal about what we have witnessed, and acting as if we should go about business as usual, without pause for prayer and reflection is a lie. And so, I chose to allow: my maleness to cry, my African-Americanness to transcend racial and ethnic boundaries, my anger to be redirected into more constructive pursuits, and my Christian ideals to transcend boundaries which keep me disconnected from brothers and sisters in other faiths.

 I choose to believe in the ideals of democracy. I choose to believe that freedom is never secured without struggle. I choose to believe that the sickness of terrorism that dampens our door will ultimately be defeated not simply with military coalitions or technologically sophisticated defense systems. Rather, I believe that we will also need: the health and wholesomeness our tolerance, the empathic understanding of how our foreign policy has created a world where people despise us so, a resolve to address whatever wrongs or perceived injustices we have committed around the world, as well as the respect for diversity and diverse ideas where we learn to peacefully co-exist in a world where the majority is not White, American, Christian, or wealthy. And I chose to believe in a world where peace and stability can reign, and we can learn to disagree without being violently disagreeable.

And I ask you to join me in praying that the Creator will hear our cries, will relieve our suffering and pain, will touch our hearts, will heal our spirits, will bestow on us the strength to resist evil wherever it may be, and never, ever allow misery to have the last word!

 I ask you to join me in praying that our leaders will be blessed with the wisdom to make tough, yet responsible choices, that our fellow citizens will learn to resist the temptation to stereotype people by color, ethnicity, or religious affiliation and that our lives will be restored with the calm and stability we have come to take for granted.

I ask you to join me in praying that we who occupy the adult corridors of the world will honor the sacrifices of those we have lost by maximizing the congruence between what we profess, and how we live. I pray that our children will be able to take ownership of a world where they enjoy a greater level of safety and stability than we have experienced. And I pray that the Creator will allow us to cry when we hurt, smile when we succeed, and despite the tragedy of this week past (September 11, 2001), recognize and appreciate all of the ways we have been profoundly blessed in our lives. Amen!

Thomas A. Parham, Ph.D
Assistant Vice Chancellor for
Counseling and Health Services,
Director, Counseling Center
University of California-Irvine
taparham@uci.edu
(949) 824-4642