2011, Tucson Memorial Address (January 2011)
Context: Scripture tells us that there is evil in the world, and that terrible things happen for reasons that defy human understanding. In the words of Job, "when I looked for light, then came darkness." Bad things happen, and we must guard against simple explanations in the aftermath.
“The reason for evil in the world is that people are not able to tell their stories.”
“Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid.”
Listening to Your Life: Daily Meditations with Frederick Buechner (1992)
Source: Beyond Words: Daily Readings in the ABC's of Faith
“Yes, terrible things happen, but sometimes those terrible things- they save you.”
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Variant: Yes, terrible things happen, but sometimes those terrible things- they save you.
Source: Haunted (2005), Chapter 11, Ritual
Six Walks in the Fictional Woods (1994) Chapter Four: "Possible Woods"
“Learning to Live with Ambiguity”
Clearing the Ground (1986)
Linda
Death of a Salesman (1949)
Context: I don't say he's a great man. Willy Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the paper. He's not the finest character that ever lived. But he's a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him. So attention must be paid. He's not to be allowed to fall into his grave like an old dog. Attention, attention must be finally paid to such a person.
“The fearsome, word-and-thought-defying banality of evil.”
Hannah Arendt in Eichmann in Jerusalem (1963), ch. 15.
The Crisis No. V
Source: 1770s, The American Crisis (1776–1783)
