SEPTEMBER EDITORIAL

One Year Later

On the eleventh day of September 2001 our world was shaken by an act of unspeakable cruelty. It is timely, as the first anniversary of the Attack on America approaches, to review how we have changed as a result of that action. For many months we appeared to exist in a climate of fear. We seemed to be prepared to sacrifice our hard won freedom for a certain measure of security. And throughout the year we waited for the other shoe to drop. We embraced an unwinable war on terrorism. We destroyed what little civilization existed in Afghanistan, and then began the long process of rebuilding that beleagured nation. And all the while we waited, convinced that another attack was imminent. We expected that our water would be poisoned with the agents of virulent disease. We jumped on the Anthrax bandwagon, only to discover as the new year wore on, that an angry American scientist was probably responsible for that.

So where are we now, nearly a year removed from 9-11? The War on
Terrorism has stuttered and stalled. The President is urging congress to extend that action to Iraq, but it is a tough sell. Too many people, in the face of a stock market that crashes and recovers overnight almost weekly, are focused on domestic problems. After Enron and World Com, most people I know are more concerned with finding or keeping a job than with international terrorism. Who can blame them? On the whole, American Corporations may be responsible for more economic hardship for Americans than Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein combined. Certainly, we must not roll over and play dead before the tyrants of this world. Perhaps we can find a peaceful resolution for the permanent crisis that is the Middle East but, first things first!
    Can we not put our own house in order before we charge off tilting at the windmills of the world? Let's rebuild America while we rebuild Afghanistan. Let's design an economic system with better rules than the law of the jungle and ensure thereby that all Americans who want to work can find and keep a decent job, have shelter, educational opportunities and medical coverage. Not only we will help ourselves by doing so but we will ultimately bring about the defeat of terror by creating a shining example of what the world can and should be, for everyone.

Your comments on the above editorial are welcome!
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