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Bread not Bombs
I am concerned that we, the American
citizenry, are being seduced by terrorism. If we retaliate, I believe
we are doomed to repeat these events time and again. Terrorism feeds
on our dark side. Retribution and retaliation are its nourishment.
Afghanistan has been a fertile ground for terrorists. Their cities are
in ruin from military conflict with the then Soviet Union. Much like
post-World War I Germany, its people are the product of a war-torn,
desperate environment…. Further reprisals will only fuel the fire.
Next time will it be germ warfare? Tainted water supplies? Or maybe it
is a nuclear war head that levels an entire city.... This nation was
founded on great principles.... True greatness speaks through eternal
truth as peace, as courage, as sacrifice, as compassion. Let us be
great.
—Thomas Paravati, Baltimore, MD
Consider Long-Term Consequences
In this time of tremendous personal and national grief it is
especially important to consider the long-term consequences of the
actions we take. I believe that the media has overplayed the voices
calling for retaliation and misinterpreted the widespread support for
the victims of Tuesday’s attacks and their families as well as for our
government and American democracy, as blanket support for whatever
military responses President Bush chooses to enact. A lot of us,
ordinary citizens not protected by secret services or military
barricades, are also very worried for our safety because we know that
retaliation leads to more of the same. I am writing to express my
support for peaceful, non-retaliatory responses to the terrorist
attacks against our nation in NY and DC, and my opposition to any and
all acts of vengeance. I encourage all readers to contact their
representatives in state and national offices and make their voices
heard in opposition to retaliation and in favor of
globally-coordinated, non-militaristic but nevertheless total
dismantling of the structures of terror behind these acts.
—Corinne Adler, Seattle
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