Congressional Record, Volume 147 Issue 131 (Wednesday, October 3, 2001)

[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 131 (Wednesday, October 3, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10253-S10254]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN

Mr. GRAHAM. Madam President, throughout America the events of
September 11 have touched our people and have brought forth a level of
thoughtful eloquence which has contributed to our ability to understand
and to be able to deal with the extreme shock and pain of those
agonizing images we all hold of the events of September 11.
On Sunday, I attended the services at my church, the Miami Lakes
Congregational Church, where our pastor, Rev. Jeffrey Frantz, delivered
an exceptional sermon. I would like his words and thoughts and message
to be made available to a broader audience, and therefore I ask
unanimous consent, Madam President, that Reverend Frantz' sermon,
``Proud to be an American,'' be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the sermon was ordered to be printed in the
Record, as follows:

``Proud To Be an American!''

Living Out Our Faith in a Dangerous World

(By Dr. Jeffrey E. Frantz, Miami Lakes Congressional Church, Miami
Lakes, FL)

Isaiah 42:5-9, Matthew 5:1-16

In these past few weeks, now, since the September 11th
nightmare, our lives have been jolted and challenged,
stretched and turned upside down, like never before. It's
like so many have commented: everything has changed.

1. First, the sweeping impact, on all levels, of the tragic
event itself . . . the anger and rage, coupled with the
mourning and grief. We were left numb with disbelief.
2. And then, later, the realization that we have to somehow
get on with our lives. We have to put our lives back
together. We can't let fear tell us who we are. We have
to dig deeply into our self-understanding, our identity
as a people, and affirm the best of our traditions.
3. We've been dealt a deathly blow; and its reaches have
touched virtually every part of our lives: the economy,
all levels of our government, the entertainment world,
our psychological and spiritual life.

I was reading an issue of Time Magazine this past week that
predated the September 11th disaster. And it was like
virtually all of the news seemed suddenly irrelevant and
inconsequential. Suddenly Michael Jordan's possible comeback
to the NBA seemed trifling and insignificant. We weren't much
interested in who Jennifer Lopez might be marrying and where,
or in the latest rumor about Julia Roberts or Tom Cruise.
Suddenly all of the usual quibbling and whimpering that
clutter our lives seem out of place and so, so harmless.
Indeed, it's a new day. And a swelling patriotism is
everywhere. I've never seen America so united. We're coming
together as we never have in the past fifty years or more.
People, all over, are coming together. There are problems,
to be sure, with some of the understandable, but inexcusable
profiling that has been going on. And we must do all we can
to curb any such intolerance or injustice. It is a difficult
time to be an Arab-American.
Also, there's an eerie frenzy about the prospect of
biological warfare and chemical or germ warfare--scary stuff.
Still, people are coming together. Literally hundreds, if not
thousands, of relief efforts are underway around the nation,
even the world. The amount of money being raised in relief
support is already staggering.
American flags have never been in such resplendent display.
Patriotic hymns and expressions of one kind or another are on
every radio station and on every street corner.
American pride is rising to a magnificent height, and it
makes us proud.
I say this because, at our best, America is a wondrous
land, a delightful rainbow people of God's creative hand. Our
freedom is our heartbeat, our pulse. But our marvelous
diversity is freedom's precious child.
Reports suggest that people from as many as sixty nations
perished in the rubble of the World Trade Center. You see,
friends, we are the world! That's not a pronouncement of
arrogance; but rather it is a description of the incredible
variety of human beings that fill the reaches of our land.

Perhaps some of you saw the televised memorial observance
last Sunday afternoon from Yankee Stadium in New York City.
With some initial words from James Earl Jones, and emceed by
Oprah Winfrey, it was a moving and touching service
throughout.
Along with tear-streaked cheeks and broken hearts, the
diversity of America was everywhere. In the stands, to be
sure, with family members, deeply saddened, holding pictures
of missing loved ones. And up front around the podium:
clerics and clergy, holy men and women--arrayed in their
sacred garments, gathered to pray and read holy writings--a
magnificent diversity.
There were Christian and Jew, Muslim and Buddhist, Hindu
and Sikh, believer and non-believer--from every imaginable
ethnic group and tribe. America is the world!

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties,
Above the fruited plain.

I'm proud to be an American

America, America!
God shed God's grace on thee.
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea.

III

This is our vision; this is our dream. It's part of our
inheritance, part of our history and tradition. Almost from
our inception, we have been what Second Isaiah called Israel,
a light to the nations.
This wasn't always Israel's self-understanding. She had
been God's chosen people, yes. But her chosenness didn't
necessarily extend beyond her borders. But, now, in exile . .
. seemingly defeated, a new vision of Israel emerged:

I will give you as a light to the nations,
said the prophet.
That my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.

This universalizing of Israel's role and purpose marks a
break-through for Israel's self-identity. Israel's
chosenness, now, is to be shared . . . to the ends of the
earth. That my salvation may reach out to all people, says
the prophet.
Friends, America too, is such a light! Whether chosen or
not, America has always felt that God's hand was on us in a
special way. There is a tantalizingly thin line, that
lingers: between the arrogance of presumption and the
humility of endowment.
Still, no matter how we understand ourselves as Americans,
we are a nation of vast resources, of tremendous power and
wealth. We have so much to be grateful for. We have been so
wondrously blessed.
Along with our power and wealth comes great responsibility.
Whatever salvation God can work through us comes most
abundantly and effectively through our humility. And no
matter how we choose to construe our present national crisis,
our responsibility--in the way we respond--is enormous.
Clearly, all of the world is watching our every move, picking
up cues from what we do.

[[Page S10254]]

1. I'm proud to be an American . . . in an America that
indeed is a light to the nations. An America that stands
tall, to be sure, but an America whose greatness is seen in
its humbleness of spirit.
2. Such humbleness of spirit, grounded in the teachings and
example of Christ, IS the key to our future, and indeed to
the future of the world, as we work our way through the chaos
and the complexity of these difficult times.

Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are the meek,
for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger for righteousness,
for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they shall see God,
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be children of God.

There's been much talk, since September 11th, of our
vulnerability. Our vulnerability is, however, nothing new.
We've always been vulnerable. It's the human condition. These
blessed conditions, the beatitudes of Jesus, are transparent
reminders of this truth.
We cannot save ourselves. Understandably, we're frenzied in
our rush to make our lives safe again, to get our life back.
We see this abundantly exemplified, now, as we invest
enormous dollars and effort to beef up our national security
and intelligence on all fronts, as we clearly must do.
And yet, as people of faith, We've never lost our life. Our
life is in God and in God's eternal love and saving grace
that have no end.
Part of what is so vividly apparent in all of this is that
we live in a world that is irreversibly interdependent and
global; and we must increasingly see ourselves in this light.
In no way, therefore, can we isolate ourselves from the
sufferings, deprivations and tribulations of any nation.
We're too interconnected; our power and influence are too
great.
I'm proud to be an American . . . in an America that indeed
is a light to the nations. An America that rises to the
challenge of the requirements of greatness. We are a great
nation. And what are the requirements of our greatness.

1. To be a good listener. Humility and love demand this of
us: to embrace the other life . . . the other tribe . . . the
other religion with respect and honor.
2. To think long-term in whatever we do. We must be
deliberate and wise in our consideration of what kind of a
world--what kind of an Afghanistan, what kind of a Pakistan,
or any other nation--do we want to see emerge on the other
side of whatever action we take.
3. To respond to evil run amok. Evil of the proportions of
the current global terrorism must be eradicated. Global
terrorism must be stopped. Most likely, we cannot avoid some
measure of violence and aggression. But how we proceed, and
with what level of international support, is of the utmost
importance.

Violence and war must never--too easily, too quickly--
become options. Sometimes, when evil and demonic forces are
too out-of-control, we may well have no choice. But even
then, it is only with great mercy and sorrow in our hearts
that we act.
All of which is to suggest that violence, and resolution
through violence, are never as easy as we think. It's never
just a matter of going in and taking care of business. Ethnic
and tribal hatreds endure, as we are seeing today, for
decades and decades . . . even centuries.
We see that in Northern Ireland. We've seen it in Kosovo
and what was Yugoslavia, where ethnic and tribal hatreds have
been warning for centuries on end. We see it, now, in
Afghanistan: tribal warlords at odds, killing one another and
perpetuating the cycle of violence for generations to come.
And we see it, too, in the endless hostilities that continue
to cast a pall of gloom over Israel and Palestine.
Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke prophetically to us about the
problem with violence: ``The ultimate weakness of violence is
that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it
seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies
it. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not
murder the hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate,
returning violence for violence, adding deeper darkness to a
night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive hate
out; only love can do that.''
We're Christians, friends, children of God, before we are
anything else. That does not mean that we should not take
care of our own. It means that we understand that taking care
of our own is rooted, first, in an impulse of love and
respect, understanding and acceptance of all nations, all
religions.
I'm proud to be an American in an America that understands
that when the international community is strong and healthy--
when freedom and hope are finding their way around the earth,
when the dreams of people everywhere have hope of
realization--then America is strong. And then America is
safe.

We're a light to the nations. I believe that. And I believe
it at the foot of the cross.
We must spread the light of God's blessings to all peoples.
This is not easy. In fact, it is very complex and will
require great sacrifice on our part, as it has in the past.
It will take time, even decades and more.
Yet, to work our way thru the rubble of September 11th, we
must make international coalitions and networks of
understanding our number one priority.
We must improve our sense of geography--our awareness of
other cultures and religions. We must lead from a strength
that exudes love, charity, compassion and historical
understanding. Because then, and only then, will we begin to
bring a healing and peace that endure to our fragmented
world.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven . . . blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit
the earth . . . blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall
be called children of God . . .
You are the light of the world . . . let your light shine
before all the world . . . that the world may see your faith
and give glory to God in heaven . . .

America, America!
God shed God's grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood.
from sea to shinning sea . . .

How beautiful, two continents,
and islands in the sea . . .
That dream of peace, non-violence,
all people living free.

America, America!
God grant that we may be . . .
A hemisphere, indeed one earth,
living in harmony.

I'm proud to be an American, O yes; and to be a child of
the living God, the God of the heavens and the earth and all
that is in it. Amen.

Mr. GRAHAM. Thank you, Madam President. And to my colleague, Senator
Torricelli, I say thank you for your forbearance.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey.

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