ZGram - 12/5/2001 - "Christmas Madness"

[irimland@zundelsite.org]

Copyright (c) 2001 - Ingrid A. Rimland

ZGram - Where Truth is Destiny

December 5, 2001

Good Morning from the Zundelsite:

This one brought tears to my eyes.  Please know that both parts of this
essay were written by MacKenzie Paine:

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MacKenzie's Truth  Seeking Missile Circling the Globe in  Defense of Truth,
Justice & Freedom

 December 4,  2001

 FIRE  TWENTY-THREE!

 Christmas Madness

 MacKenzie Paine

 Throughout my entire lifetime the Christmas season has been my favorite
time  of year.   It's always been filled with joyous reunions, counting our
blessings and celebrating our   Christian faith. I've always loved hand
making  special gifts to give to friends and loved ones,   and always
abhorred the  teeming malls. My mother and I would bake loaf after loaf of
special    Christmas bread that we would then deliver to friends on
Christmas Eve.  Whenever we could get   more than three people together
around the piano, our  house would ring with song and   merriment.
Christmas has always been, for me,  a time of love, of sharing, and of
celebrating   our faith in the goodness of  all.

   Perhaps I'm too much of a romantic. Maybe if I'd been more of a realist
I  would not be experiencing the sadness and disappointment that I feel
this  Christmas. Still, I cannot completely snuff the flicker of hope that
one day we  will again be able to celebrate Christmas joyously, with purity
of mind and  heart.

   Today I am saddened because I have just learned that, for speaking out
for  the powerless and against their persecutors, in the eyes of my
government I am a  potential terrorist. I am saddened because the
birthplace of Jesus Christ is  under siege, and that His followers who live
there today will be unable to share  their joyous reunions with Christian
pilgrims to the Holy Land, as their  forbears have done for centuries. I am
saddened because no matter the perfection  of the handiwork, no gift to my
friends in Palestine can ease their burden or  set them free. Finally, I am
saddened because my dear country, for which many of  my ancestors fought
and many died, has lost its former greatness.

     Forgive me my glumness, but this season I cannot look at a Christmas
tree  without thinking of the   hundreds of thousands of fruit and olive
trees that  have been uprooted and destroyed in Palestine. The Christmas
lights don't seem  to shine so brightly this year -- could it be the mist
of my tears? For more  than a year now we have struggled so, together with
friends from around the  world, for a just peace in the Holy Land, and yet
the brave Palestinians are no  closer to ending their half-century of
oppression than they were when we  started.

     My tears, my sadness, are those of a possible terrorist suspect. When
a law  abiding, Roman   Catholic mother of two who has never wielded
anything more  dangerous than a pen can be   classified as a domestic
terrorist for her  thoughts and beliefs, the death knell sounds for
freedom. To argue against  war and in favor of peace is now suspect.
Standing up in defense of the greatest  human document in history, our
American Constitution, is now potentially a  criminal act. To arm oneself
with the truth is now more dangerous to one's  privacy and freedom than to
take up arms in conformance with the Second  Amendment. And our leaders,
who swore an oath to God to uphold our Constitution,  are the ones
trampling it into the bloody ruins of the World Trade Center.

   I am speaking of the misnamed Patriot Act and its new definitions and
prescriptions. It would seem that our freedoms, proclaimed, won, and
defended by  our patriot forebears, terrify those in power. Freedom to
debate, to disagree,  and even to worship strikes terror in the minds of a
powerful few, so that now  these freedoms, once guaranteed to all
Americans, are being curtailed even as  you read these lines.

      It looks as if the The Bully has won another round. In public places
Nativity  scenes remain taboo, and our children and grandchildren continue
to be denied  the simple but profound joy of Christmas pageants in their
schools. Separation  of state and church is mandatory, so long as it's the
Christian church. Jewish  propaganda, under the guise of  =1CHolocaust
education, =1D continues meanwhile,  unabated.

   As I write, helicopter gun ships blast away at the remnant of the much
partitioned, long abused land and people of Palestine. Children are gunned
down  daily by murderous  =1Callies =1D armed by taxes on our labor. For
Palestinians are  terrorists, while their murderous oppressors are
=1Csecurity forces. =1D So say our  president and our senators and
editorialists and newscasters. Forgive me my  terroristic impudence, but
when that ancient Palestinian firebrand, Jesus  Christ, said,  =1CBlessed ar=
e
those who hunger and thirst for justice, =1D do you  think that He meant Bus=
h
and Sharon, or their victims in Palestine?

   Yes, I am sad and frustrated. But as I write this I recall something
Ingrid  Rimland wrote to me when I first dedicated my pen to helping expose
The Bully.  She wrote,  =1CWelcome to the struggle. =1D I replied,  =1CGlad=
 to be
here! =1D The words of  a na=EFve young recruit if there ever were any. Over
the past year I've been  called every foul name possible by an angry Bully,
and each time I've felt a  surge of strength. I've also received the most
wonderful letters, and discovered  far more decent, loving, compassionate
human beings than I have senseless, angry  bullies. And as I think about
the gracious, generous of spirit, forgiving  friends whom I have been
blessed with in the Holy Land, my heart swells.

   This is a struggle that has been going on for thousands of years. Others
in  centuries past have managed to turn the tide for periods of time.
Perhaps that  is why it is such an important part of the Christmas
tradition always to pray  for peace on earth to men of good will. I believe
that God helps those who help  themselves, so we shall continue the
struggle. Frustration will be followed by  patience, sadness by maturity,
and tears by resolve.

     Together we Americans can restore our great nation to the City on the
Hill,  with all of the promise   for peace, freedom, and prosperity that
our Founding  Fathers bequeathed us. Together we can keep working for
justice and peace in the  Holy Land. Though words seem powerless against
tanks and gun ships, against the  mighty tyranny that menaces our
liberties, if we speak the truth, relentlessly,  with conviction and with
courage, we can silence the guns and regain our  freedoms. For real peace
comes only with justice, and justice comes only through  truth.

Dear friends,

  I hesitate to wish you a  "Merry Christmas" =1D as the words ring hollow.
Instead,  I hope and pray for all of you to enjoy a meaningful and joyous
Christmas,  followed by a most prosperous and productive New Year. We are
in the middle of  some big changes, which those of you whose snail mail
addresses I have will know  about shortly. We are, indeed, taking this
struggle to the next level. But it  means moving my family (including my
father, handicapped brother, the boys, our  Golden Retriever and my 24 year
old parrot!) 2,200 miles. The potential is very  exciting, and by spring I
shouldn't need to ask anymore for any financial help.  But if you can help
with this move, I assure you it will be put to the best  possible use. To
those who helped keep the phone line on, my thank you's are in  the mail.
To any who can help now, you will be helping several in the movement.  I
hesitate to say more in email. And if you can't help, God bless you still
for  being here!

      Contributions can still be made payable to Ralph Pinque R-06, P.O.
Box  439016, San Diego, CA. 92143.

   I wish you all a joyous Christmas and hope to be back online in time for
New  Year's Eve. Meanwhile, this Bully Buster has to finish packing for a
long move!  We're going home!

   Once again, I love you all and wish you all of the best!

     MacKenzie

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