An Epitaph For Terri
Dear Terri,
I want you to know that as I write this epitaph to you, I do so with sadness of thought and sorrow in my heart. Rather than face any congregation, I hope that some small part of the world will have the opportunity to read my thoughts as well as my words. If I did not write these words, I would feel that there is a vacancy in my heart as well as my soul.
Hopefully, you will accept the idea that you did not die in vain for there were many who had your best interests at heart and you will serve as an example of the injustices that we all must face on any given day. Your memory will serve as a symbol for those of us who struggle to protect those who are unable to protect themselves. The only weapons that we have at our command are the prayers that we pray to our God and the voices that we raise towards those who would unjustly rule over us.
No matter how incapacitated you might have been, our thoughts were that as long as your breathed life, there was hope for your eventual recovery and a place for you in this world. Admittedly, others thought differently and they sought to end your life and unfortunately, they succeeded. Now, we must go on and face the onslaught that will be presented to us because, sadly, there will be others like you where the curtain of life will be drawn and in many cases, prematurely. All that we asked was that you be given a chance to live and not to die. We have all been enveloped by a Culture of Death and it remains to be seen if we have the strength and fortitude to defeat it. The forces that we face are quite schooled in forcing their will upon others and are devious at best because they oftentimes come with a smile on their faces, but with evil in their hearts.
I have lived long enough to gain some experience in life and it saddens me to witness how far our Nation has deteriorated in it's respect for and the preservation of life. There was a time when the citizens of our Country acted in valor to save lives and no matter as to race, creed or color. These rescuers were not out to prove a point nor did they act in selfish interest by expressing a particular ideology whether that ideology be one of politics, religious belief or personal gain. Many of them acted according to the situation at the time and without any regard to their own well being. Their only thought was to save another human being and oftentimes at great risk to themselves. In your case, I did not witness any valor on the part of others, but rather, they were willing to sacrifice your life in order to prove a point or relieve themselves of the obligation that your continued existence placed upon them. It was no act of valor to deny you food or drink, but rather a callous act of deprivation. Their only design was to make you die. The only example they provided for the rest of us was how ruthless they could be towards another human being. Theirs is not an example that I would wish to pass on to my own children as it is an evil one and evil corrupts and destroys the soul. It is like a beast in the jungle. Once it kills, it is easy for it to kill again.
As for your own family, I have to tell you that from what I have seen and read, they fought the good fight, but oftentimes the pure of heart don't often win. The fact that they stood and faced those who were intent on taking your life speaks volumes for the rest of us who, for all practical purposes, might not have had the strength to do the same. Because of them, you should be most proud and I hope that in some way, my words might reach them. If anything, they can take heart in knowing that many of us shared their agony throughout your final ordeal.
Where my Country is concerned, I must tell you that I am quite disappointed because wherever our flag has flown it has always served as an example for other peoples and lands. The principles for which that flag once stood now has had a stain placed upon it. True, we have gone to war to protect not only our own principles, but, in many cases, to spread the ideals for which our flag stood. Wherever death has occurred while fighting under that flag it has always been for a noble purpose. Never has it been known that we would deprive another human being the essentials of life, but now we have and worse yet, we have denied those essentials to one of our own. We now must bow our heads in shame because we have been corrupted by the very same ruthless ideologies that we oftentimes have fought against throughout the ages.
So, Dear Terri, we now have come to a turning point in our long history of protecting human values and worth. The question remains as to whether or not we will gather together the forces necessary to prevent what has happened to you from happening to others. Or, do we slide further into the abyss and repeat what other great cultures have done before our own and that is to start to destroy those things that we considered most sacred. Is it not time to say enough is enough? If you can take any satisfaction in your sacrifice, you can trust that you have awakened our Nation to a new cause. We are now called upon to reaffirm the values that were written in our Nation's Constitution and that is to, "...protect life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
May you rest upon Angel's wings,
Thomas J. Crane - tccrane@peoplepc.com
1354 Hirsch
Calumet City, IL 60409
Copyright (C) 2005 All Rights Reserved
=======================
TERRI'S STORY:
HTTP://WWW.APFN.ORG/APFN/TERRI.HTM
Dear Terri,
I want you to know that as I write this epitaph to you, I do so with sadness of thought and sorrow in my heart. Rather than face any congregation, I hope that some small part of the world will have the opportunity to read my thoughts as well as my words. If I did not write these words, I would feel that there is a vacancy in my heart as well as my soul.
Hopefully, you will accept the idea that you did not die in vain for there were many who had your best interests at heart and you will serve as an example of the injustices that we all must face on any given day. Your memory will serve as a symbol for those of us who struggle to protect those who are unable to protect themselves. The only weapons that we have at our command are the prayers that we pray to our God and the voices that we raise towards those who would unjustly rule over us.
No matter how incapacitated you might have been, our thoughts were that as long as your breathed life, there was hope for your eventual recovery and a place for you in this world. Admittedly, others thought differently and they sought to end your life and unfortunately, they succeeded. Now, we must go on and face the onslaught that will be presented to us because, sadly, there will be others like you where the curtain of life will be drawn and in many cases, prematurely. All that we asked was that you be given a chance to live and not to die. We have all been enveloped by a Culture of Death and it remains to be seen if we have the strength and fortitude to defeat it. The forces that we face are quite schooled in forcing their will upon others and are devious at best because they oftentimes come with a smile on their faces, but with evil in their hearts.
I have lived long enough to gain some experience in life and it saddens me to witness how far our Nation has deteriorated in it's respect for and the preservation of life. There was a time when the citizens of our Country acted in valor to save lives and no matter as to race, creed or color. These rescuers were not out to prove a point nor did they act in selfish interest by expressing a particular ideology whether that ideology be one of politics, religious belief or personal gain. Many of them acted according to the situation at the time and without any regard to their own well being. Their only thought was to save another human being and oftentimes at great risk to themselves. In your case, I did not witness any valor on the part of others, but rather, they were willing to sacrifice your life in order to prove a point or relieve themselves of the obligation that your continued existence placed upon them. It was no act of valor to deny you food or drink, but rather a callous act of deprivation. Their only design was to make you die. The only example they provided for the rest of us was how ruthless they could be towards another human being. Theirs is not an example that I would wish to pass on to my own children as it is an evil one and evil corrupts and destroys the soul. It is like a beast in the jungle. Once it kills, it is easy for it to kill again.
As for your own family, I have to tell you that from what I have seen and read, they fought the good fight, but oftentimes the pure of heart don't often win. The fact that they stood and faced those who were intent on taking your life speaks volumes for the rest of us who, for all practical purposes, might not have had the strength to do the same. Because of them, you should be most proud and I hope that in some way, my words might reach them. If anything, they can take heart in knowing that many of us shared their agony throughout your final ordeal.
Where my Country is concerned, I must tell you that I am quite disappointed because wherever our flag has flown it has always served as an example for other peoples and lands. The principles for which that flag once stood now has had a stain placed upon it. True, we have gone to war to protect not only our own principles, but, in many cases, to spread the ideals for which our flag stood. Wherever death has occurred while fighting under that flag it has always been for a noble purpose. Never has it been known that we would deprive another human being the essentials of life, but now we have and worse yet, we have denied those essentials to one of our own. We now must bow our heads in shame because we have been corrupted by the very same ruthless ideologies that we oftentimes have fought against throughout the ages.
So, Dear Terri, we now have come to a turning point in our long history of protecting human values and worth. The question remains as to whether or not we will gather together the forces necessary to prevent what has happened to you from happening to others. Or, do we slide further into the abyss and repeat what other great cultures have done before our own and that is to start to destroy those things that we considered most sacred. Is it not time to say enough is enough? If you can take any satisfaction in your sacrifice, you can trust that you have awakened our Nation to a new cause. We are now called upon to reaffirm the values that were written in our Nation's Constitution and that is to, "...protect life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
May you rest upon Angel's wings,
Thomas J. Crane - tccrane@peoplepc.com
1354 Hirsch
Calumet City, IL 60409
Copyright (C) 2005 All Rights Reserved
=======================
TERRI'S STORY:
HTTP://WWW.APFN.ORG/APFN/TERRI.HTM
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