September 11th
- Listen to me read this thought.
The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. Terrorism aims to function by causing fear: paralyzing fear that immobilizes societies. Our society, America, cannot submit to fear. We are a mighty people, the strongest the planet has ever seen. The tenants of this nation dictate that we not abandon the banner of freedom and liberty merely because antagonism is directed against us. We must stand strong, holding high the American flag amidst tragedy, wearing our swords at our sides and drawing them out to strike only when we have ascertained our enemy.
The events of September 11, 2001 will be remembered in our generation. I will never forget my disbelief right before taking a chemistry quiz: a plane had flown into the World Trade Center. It seemed as if suddenly my existence had been taken into an elaborate science fiction plot, and yet it was still reality. As further events of the day unfolded, I watched, awestricken that this could be happening to this nation.
This attack was executed with amazing military precision, striking two major targets within a space of an hour, creating havoc and shutting down much of the government. The principle aim of the terrorists, however, will not be accomplished. America will not withdraw from world affairs, wounded and wary, never to stand again as the light of liberty across the world. Though the Towers smolder in ashes and ruin, Lady Liberty yet holds forth her torch, her eyes filled with tears and her fists clenched in righteous anger.
It is very easy to lose sight of the tremendous loss that our nation has taken. "Thousands of lives" is not just an expression for a number. Each and every one of those lives was not merely a life; each was a thread in the intricate web that is human existence. Each life taken was prematurely ended. America lost an irreplaceable part of itself on September 11, 2001. In dealing with the aftermath, we must remember that these are innocent human beings who have been cruelly slain.
The options of our course of action must be weighed carefully, yet we must not lower ourselves to the level of the terrorists. America cannot find true vengeance by slaying innocent peasants whose government has given safe haven to terrorists. If we do so, then we are no better than the terrorists: brutes who slay innocents without just cause. We are the most powerful nation on earth. Our technology and force exceeds that of anything else this planet has ever seen. We have the capability to track down those responsible, apprehend them and bring them to the full force of our justice system. And that new fanatics not replace them; we must destroy their operations and supply caches. We will erase their memory from the earth. This we can do. This we must do. This we shall do.
Comments
*cheers* It\'s about time someone agreed with me... the attacking of innocents makes us just as bad as them if we do it, I\'ve been saying that and it felt like no one listened or cared... What the terrorists did was sinister, let\'s not add to the total of innocents destroyed, but instead find a way to maintain peace and hope.
-- Lenya Friesner (Monday, April 1, 2002)
I think this country has performed well at keeping innocent casualties to a minimum. We are certainly not killing them on purpose. Killing innocents will only make their families hate America and help the recruiting efforts of terrorists.
-- First Last (Wednesday, June 12, 2002)
I appreciate the sentiment of eradicating fanatics and preventing thier return, but this seems so obvious a pipe dream that I am compelled to respond. I have a hunch that your perspective is more firmly rooted in ideological ground than my own, but I would say that cruelty (and consequently the group of people who practices it) is both too subjective and too relative to ever vanish. It has two root causes, and neither can be eliminated in the practical world.
The first is differences in perspective. Different cultures will always believe that different things are fair, and therefore that different things are cruel. Two glaring examples of cruelty that arise partially from differences in perspective are the views on the death penalty and abortion. What one perspective regards as cruel the other regards as just or prudent. You could eliminate abortion and the death penalty, but this would lead to consequences deemed cruel by other perspectives, such as the saddling of young rape victims with unwanted children.
Cruelty is also defined in relation to our human impulses. Causing unwanted, unjustified pain is regarded as cruel among most cultures simply because our body rejects pain. Food deprivation and extreme isolation are other examples. Nevertheless, a person made to be weary working physical labor for compensation is not considered a victim of cruelty even when the worker could easily be paid more and the job made easier, if his superiors so chose.
In a culture where all other forms of cruelty were eradicated, however, I believe this relatively minor offense would come to be regarded in the same light as torture is now. Workers in the past were regularly subjected to far harsher conditions and very lax safety measures in the past as a matter of course. As the human condition improves, though, people do not become less concerned for human welfare or more tolerant of lesser transgressions; they attack each lessor transgression with the same fervor whith which they attacked th last.
Cruelty is relative as well as subjective, and as such it can never be eliminated. There is nothing that we on earth can do to eliminate the impression of the existence of cruelty, and the prescence of people who practice it.-- Eric Thomas (Friday, November 5, 2004)