Pause... and reconsider humanity's ongoing love affair with violence

For what it's worth, I cry for the family of the man beheaded today
for the unwillingess of the US and the Saudi Govt to "negotiate with Terrorists." I doubted though that the son's most loving plea for the US govt to bring his father home would ever happen, at least, not that they would bring him home alive. Still, it saddens me because their suffering could have been lessened, or avoided entirely, not worsened as it no doubt is now. Our govt always has options. Most importantly it ALWAYS has the option and the privilege to choose the path of least harm. Unfortunately, war is a more profittable business than safeguarding human lives, whether or not those lives happen to be American.

The mainstream media has been doing its best to blast Michael Moore's new film as "biased" "twisted" etc etc etc and yet, though I haven't seen it yet (I will!) anyone can do the research and find out this stuff for themselves. I mean, if Americans truly wanted to answer that post 9/11 question "Why do they hate us?" they would need to look no further than the US political, socio-economic history or at the very least at the reality of our countless "military interventions."
All we need do is pause for a moment and think about the devastation caused by "carpet bombing" "cluster bombing" "random shelling" etc etc. Why don't we as a nation pause to think about the psychological damage of entire nations left to clean up their devastated countries when puppet dictators fall and elected leaders face horrendous economic sanctions AND international isolation. How about a moment of silence for the children who every day risk what little health they may have digging in dumpsters to recycle hypodermic needles to be used on AIDS patients in hospitals already functioning on a subsistence level.
Why not that at least try that???

The US could do so much, so very much to alleviate massive global suffering and so very easily but noble intentions and corporate interests (according to many market strategists and "experts" in big business") do not see eye to eye. The suffering of economic terrorism safeguarded by military hegemony comes home to the people not directly responsible for it. That is truly tragic. I am sad for that man's family and for his suffering but I also think we as Americans must wake up to the fact that our government creates and sustains the conditions of terrorism for one simple reason: because in the language of "big business," it is profittable.

I wish respectful silences could solve things. I wish those honorary moments of silence where people pause to think and reflect upon the loss of life and massive suffering could actually stop such insanity.
I wish words could fill voids left by unimaginable pain and sadness.
But such concessions fail because as Ani eloquently put it, "those who call the shots are never in the line of fire" ("NOT SO SOFT" from the c.d. by the same name.

Most of all, I wish that every human being could see the value in every existence. How precious every breath and every heartbeat truly is. If this could be, perhaps then we could pause as entire nations to rethink the idea of retribution, rethink the idea of global and national wealth distribution and most importantly, pause to reconsider humanity's love affair with violence.

I will pause anyway because I have no words to give that I find valuable enough to convey respect for such loss of life.
What follows is a chant I try to say every night, may the actions follow the words. peace.

May all beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering
May all beings be whole, healthy, happy and safe
May all beings know love
May all beings be free
May all beings dwell in the space of equanimity

namaste.