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The Taliban was telling the citizens of Afghanistan today to prepare for holy war, that the US would be attacking them for harboring Osama bin Laden. Their leaders are stirring them up, telling them not to be afraid of dying. And after all, bin Laden helped them in the war with the Soviets, so why shouldn't they help him?
(And just in case you were wondering, we made the demon that is Osama bin Laden. Nothing like a CIA-trained Cold-War-Era terrorist (to take out the Soviets in Afghanistan) to ruin your day.)
And now we see the true power of terrorism. It's the equivalent of a cowardly bully punching you in the nose, then hiding behind its weak friend who can't defend itself. You can't just pummel the weak kid because the bully is his friend, and yet you can't just let the bully get away with it either, because he'll just do it again.
Americans are calling out for blood, the rest of the world is trying to keep us thinking rationally (but agreeing that we should be angered), and the weaker countries that befriended the terrorists are bracing for an attack. But really, how does pounding Afghanistan into so much dust and glass help the situation any? Most likely, the terrorists -- being small, well-organized groups unfettered by borders -- will get away, and all we'll end up doing is killing a bunch of innocent civilians, just as the terrorists did.
I wish I had the answers. God, I wish I did. But I don't. All I know is that killing innocents will not solve anything. It will only fuel the fire further, and cause more hate -- they'll hate us more, then do something to make us hate them more. It's not worth it.
Please, God, let us remember that it wasn't just Americans that were killed, that it wasn't just America that was bloodied, that this was a strike against humanity in general, and that fighting inhumanity with inhumanity is not the answer. Let our retribution - and there will, there MUST, be some kind of retribution - be a scalpel, not a sledgehammer. We must be as surgeons, excising the malignancy while keeping as much of the tissue around it unharmed.
And when all is said and done, and the world has banded together to fight this evil, let us also remember that we are part of a world community, and that we should play nice with the world too -- no more pulling out of treaties because they don't suit our (read: our corporations') interests. Remember that countries who have had nothing but loathing for us in the past opened up to us in our time of need (who would have thought 1-5-10-15-40 years ago that Cuba would open up its airspace to US planes?).
Please, God. That's all I ask. That You temper our anger with compassion and humanity for our fellow man, that You remind us that the average citizen in the countries we may strike against cares nothing about this war and only wants what we want - to make it to see another tomorrow, that You help all of Your children, be they Christian, Jew, Muslim, pagan, or even athiest, to band together and treat each other as fellow humans.
(Yes, that's _all_ I ask. A big order to fill, I know, but simple in its concept.)
Maybe if enough of us pray hard enough, it'll happen...
*goes to see if he can find a United Nations flag to fly - forget patriotism, we need unity*
(And just in case you were wondering, we made the demon that is Osama bin Laden. Nothing like a CIA-trained Cold-War-Era terrorist (to take out the Soviets in Afghanistan) to ruin your day.)
And now we see the true power of terrorism. It's the equivalent of a cowardly bully punching you in the nose, then hiding behind its weak friend who can't defend itself. You can't just pummel the weak kid because the bully is his friend, and yet you can't just let the bully get away with it either, because he'll just do it again.
Americans are calling out for blood, the rest of the world is trying to keep us thinking rationally (but agreeing that we should be angered), and the weaker countries that befriended the terrorists are bracing for an attack. But really, how does pounding Afghanistan into so much dust and glass help the situation any? Most likely, the terrorists -- being small, well-organized groups unfettered by borders -- will get away, and all we'll end up doing is killing a bunch of innocent civilians, just as the terrorists did.
I wish I had the answers. God, I wish I did. But I don't. All I know is that killing innocents will not solve anything. It will only fuel the fire further, and cause more hate -- they'll hate us more, then do something to make us hate them more. It's not worth it.
Please, God, let us remember that it wasn't just Americans that were killed, that it wasn't just America that was bloodied, that this was a strike against humanity in general, and that fighting inhumanity with inhumanity is not the answer. Let our retribution - and there will, there MUST, be some kind of retribution - be a scalpel, not a sledgehammer. We must be as surgeons, excising the malignancy while keeping as much of the tissue around it unharmed.
And when all is said and done, and the world has banded together to fight this evil, let us also remember that we are part of a world community, and that we should play nice with the world too -- no more pulling out of treaties because they don't suit our (read: our corporations') interests. Remember that countries who have had nothing but loathing for us in the past opened up to us in our time of need (who would have thought 1-5-10-15-40 years ago that Cuba would open up its airspace to US planes?).
Please, God. That's all I ask. That You temper our anger with compassion and humanity for our fellow man, that You remind us that the average citizen in the countries we may strike against cares nothing about this war and only wants what we want - to make it to see another tomorrow, that You help all of Your children, be they Christian, Jew, Muslim, pagan, or even athiest, to band together and treat each other as fellow humans.
(Yes, that's _all_ I ask. A big order to fill, I know, but simple in its concept.)
Maybe if enough of us pray hard enough, it'll happen...
*goes to see if he can find a United Nations flag to fly - forget patriotism, we need unity*
