I like to believe (so I do) that this is a Christian nation, as Christianity is still the religion with which the most Americans identify. However, the concept of forgiveness is central to Jesus' teachings, and most of the time we react to hardship by blaming and suing rather than forgiving and sympathizing.
No man in America today has more reason to recriminate than Dong Yun Yoon, who lost his entire family when a Marine Corps F-18 crashed into his San Diego home. In his first public statements, Mr. Yoon has reaffirmed his faith in God, humbly reached out to the community for support, and expressed concern for the emotional well-being of the doomed fighter jet's pilot, who safely ejected and was rescued.
If it is possible for this story to have an additional element of sadness, the increase, small though it is, is due to the fact that Mr. Yoon, who emigrated from Korea in 1989, is a far better American than almost everyone who had the good fortune to have been born in this country. While dredlocked Ivy League graduates reeking of patchouli vilify the only nation in which the recipient of a post-doctorate in the Comparative History of Post-Modern Neo-Deconstructionist Lyric Poetry does not automatically starve to death (at least not involuntarily, as an alarming number become vegans), an immigrant who has lost everything retains his love of God and his respect for the military--those most responsible for his loss, understanding better than many natural-born citizens the value of the armed services and the respect they deserve.
God willing, none of us will ever have to suffer as Mr. Yoon has and will continue to suffer. But if it is His will, I pray that we will all bear it with as much grace, humility, and forgiveness as Mr. Yoon has shown.
No comments:
Post a Comment