Folks, I've been mostly confining my thoughts on this situation to private emails. But I want to respond to Kakki and Deb publicly. Kakki wrote, in part: >You know I really don't give a damn what these people who are always >chiding and sniping at us think at this point...There is no way to go >back and wring our hands and think of everything we might have done >the past 50 years to "deserve" this. There isn't a country in the world that could examine its behaviour during the last 50 years and NOT find reason for regret and even shame. It's amazing how the 20/20 vision of hindsight can make people so smug and self-satisfied when it comes time to evaluate the track record of another country! To abhor this act of terrorism does NOT mean that we don't also abhor other acts of terrorism, no matter where they occur. Kakki is 100% right: NOBODY deserves this. And America has NOT gone off and bombed the hell out of Afghanistan. The hate crimes committed against Islamic, Sikh, Hindu, and First Nation citizens of the US, Canada, Britain, and elsewhere have been properly denounced by the American government as the terrorist acts they are. When President Bush asked for patience, I believed that this meant he was unwilling to proceed until justice, rather than blind retaliation, can be served. That he understands that many Afghanis are victims of terrorism and opression. I believed it then, and I believe it now. Deb Messling wrote, in part: >I'm with Kakki on this one. Of course, the US is not perfect...The >Americans I've been talking with acknowledge our failings and are >even willing to reflect on how we might have contributed to the >situation we face today. But for crying out loud, read what bin Laden >has to say and see if "pure evil" does not apply...Parallels to Hitler are >apt. He hates us (Americans) for the mere fact that we >exist. We indeed must DEFEND and PROTECT ourselves. First of all, I don't believe in "pure evil." It's comforting to think that good will prevail against evil, as if the forces of evil are like cockroaches. The scarier reality is that we're dealing with a conflict between opposing visions of good. Don't get me wrong, I know what side I'm on. But I think it's important to recognize that these people are deeply committed to bin Laden (who, after all, imposes a death sentence on any follower who attempts to leave the fold). It's also important for all of us to recognize that we are ALL bin Laden's enemies: he's said it himself. Including Islamic citizens of all countries who don't adhere to his policies. Deb goes on to say: >I can tolerate some of this criticism of the US from my fellow >Americans. But I wish the rest of you could just shut up and let us >grieve for a while... Deb, I'm not here to criticize. Boundaries don't mean what they did even a few decades ago; as a Canadian who also experienced this tragedy from a safe (or once safe) distance, I'm grieving, too. People from many countries died in the WTC. What I am here to say is this: for the record, I'm in support of the US. I know how much we owe to the US, and how much we take this for granted. I also know that if the US goes down, so does Canada. And I promise you this: I'll continue to be vocal about it. Roberto ps. PaulIV talked about smiling. Let's all promise to greet airline workers with smiles and patience, no matter how inconvenienced we may be. _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp
