2002-10-20 - 8:50 p.m.

Heaven on Earth- we need it now

I'm sick of all of this hanging around

Sick of sorrow, sick of pain

Sick of hearing again and again

That there's gonna be peace on Earth

Where I grew up there weren't many trees

Where there were we'd tear them down

And use them on our enemies

They say that what you mock will surely overtake you

And you become a monster so the monster will not break you

It's already gone too far

Who said that if you go in hard you won't get hurt?

Jesus could you take the time

To throw a drowning man a line?

Peace on Earth

Tell the ones who hear no sound

Whose sons are living in the ground

Peace on Earth

No whos or whys

No one cries like a mother cries

For peace on Earth

She never got to say goodbye

To see the colour in his eyes

Now he's in the dirt

That's peace on Earth

They're reading names out over the radio

All the folks the rest of us won't get to know

Sean and Julia, Gareth, Ann and Breda

Their lives are bigger than any big idea

Jesus this song you wrote

The words are sticking in my throat

Peace on Earth

Hear it every Christmas time

But hope and history wont rhyme

So what's it worth?

This peace on Earth

U2- 'Peace on Earth'

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The line that really rings out for me in that song at the moment is "And you become a monster so the monster will not break you". The number of redneck hypocrites that climb out of the woodwork after a tragedy such as the one we experienced last week, or last September, disgusts me no end. Okay, granted these people are hurting, and like all of us feel threatened, and afraid, and angry that our basic rights are being challenged. But people who ring up John Laws angry that our Prime Minister has spoken out in defence of the Muslim community are as bad as the perpetrators of these hideous crimes because they are spreading hatred. People who write letters to the editor to the effect that "the guise of Islam as a religion of peace is becoming less credible by the day". People who are angry at the Democrats and the Greens for simply suggesting that any knee-jerk attempts to introduce new anti-terrorist legislation that may interfere with civil liberties would have to be questioned- that is sanity not stupidity. One of the talkback hosts posed the hypothetical question "Well *insert name of Senator he was appalled at* if now isn't the time for hotheaded reactions then when is?" I would suggest never. Major decisions should always be made with a level head.

That's the last thing I'm going to say about this whole thing. It was tragic, it was shocking, and maybe it changed us forever, but I'm going to continue doing everything I was always doing, in no more fear or trepidation than before. Call it naive, but I believe it's the best way to make sure any attack on our freedom is not successful.

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