Declaration of Principles

This is a rare weepy-post. Call me emo if you must, but I had to make it.

As elaryn once said to me, "Truth is where you find it." Frank Herbert wrote that we recognize truth because it awakens a sense inside us that tells us "This is something we have always known."

In light of the events unfolding in the Middle East, I abstain from commenting on the actions of either side and instead give you this truth, from the pen of J. Michael Straczynski. Replace the science fiction race names with nationalities, and you'll get the same effect.

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The Universe speaks in many languages, but only one voice.
The language is not Narn, or Human, or Centauri, or Gaim or Minbari.
It speaks in the language of hope;
It speaks in the language of trust;
It speaks in the language of strength, and the language of compassion.
It is the language of the heart and the language of the soul. But always, it is the same voice.
It is the voice of our ancestors, speaking through us,
And the voice of our inheritors, waiting to be born.
It is the small, still voice that says:
We are one.
No matter the blood;
No matter the skin;
No matter the world;
No matter the star;
We are one.
No matter the pain;
No matter the darkness;
No matter the loss;
No matter the fear;

We are one.

Here, gathered together in common cause, we agree to recognize this singular truth, and this singular rule:
That we must be kind to one another,
Because each voice enriches us and ennobles us,
And each voice lost diminishes us.
We are the voice of the Universe,
The soul of creation,
The fire that will light the way to a better future.

We are one.

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I do not believe in any god, in any discrete and seperate entity that guides us. But I do believe that we are connected, one to another, by the universe itself.

My words cannot help those who are suffering under the rockets of Israel or the Hezbollah Militia. But my heart goes out to the innocents of both Israel and Lebanon, and Iraq, and Iran, and Darfur and China and everywhere else. And to you.

The Universe be with you, now and forever.