Griffin Speaks

DON'T BE AFRAID TO DIE

A good friend of mine Annette Walker was traveling in the Middle East. On two separate occasions she left a building moments before it exploded. When she shared her stories with me I was amazed at how close she had come to death. I could also detect that she like many people had overcome her fear of dying. 

Truth be told our fear of dying is an unrealistic and extremely unhealthy fear. We all want to go to heaven but none of us want to die to get there. Many people are so afraid of dying they don’t want to talk about it. There are others so obsessed with dying that is all they talk about. 

My fear is not of dying, but dying unprepared. That is why I live each day as if it were my last. I destroy procrastination with action, I dismember fear with courage and I overcome doubt with an abiding faith in God. The results are a healthy and wonderful life. 

Don’t ignore death and refuse to accept the fact that you will die. When you do that you waste your life working for things that you can only leave behind. I have never seen a U-Haul following a hearse. The fact is we are only passing through this world. 

Man’s ability to overcome his fear of dying has created another problem for us. The suicide bomber and many other terrorists have overcome their fear of dying. When man is not afraid to die he can cause chaos among those who are afraid of death. 

When you board an aircraft you most likely have not met the pilot. However, you have a sense of peace because you believe that he won’t intentionally crash the plane because after all no one in their right mind wants to die. WRONG! We are seeing a growing number of suicidal people being recruited by terrorist to destroy our way of life. 

In America we are too open. We eat at buffets daily. A terrorist could easily taint the buffet. God forbid if he strikes the chicken industry. It would wipe out a large segment of Black America. I eat chicken every day! Yes I said it. You know it’s the truth! He could one-day start targeting specific groups of people. Black Colleges, Racing Sports, Athletic events, etc. etc. 

What can we do to protect ourselves from terrorism? We must always be aware of our surroundings. If something or someone looks suspicious call the authorities. Don’t worry about being called a racists or alarmist. If you see someone acting odd, looking odd or just plain suspicious looking make that call. 

Many African Americans have a false sense of security because they believe the terrorist is mainly concerned with killing whites. They believe that the terrorist believe that the decision-makers in America are not as concerned about black life as they are about white life. Example: How many of you believe that the media would have covered the Natalie Holloway story this long if she were black? What effect would 911 have had on America if only African Americans were killed? What effect has Black on Black crime had on White America? What happens when the Black Criminal preys on the White neighborhoods? Is there really a difference in the amount of concern? Do terrorist observe these things? Who are the likely targets of terrorism?  

I call on Black Americans to take the threat of terrorism seriously. I hear too many of us joking and thinking that the threat is against only whites. There were a number of Blacks killed on 911. We are all in danger! We must all rally behind the government and fight terrorism!

Greg Griffin is a free lance writer. You can read his previous articles by visiting his web page at www.greggriffin.com