tp185.xml
Title
tp185.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2003-03-03
TomPaine Story: Story
Lesson Learned?
After 9/11, many people asked, ""Why do they hate us so much?"" The answer
holds the key to making successful foreign policy. But, America ignores the
answer and continues to mishandle an explosion of apocalyptic rage that can
be all too easily repeated.
The grievances against the U.S. are many and damning. The terrorists say
that we are a terrorist nation, exporting arms and conducting wars of
self-interest at will. They say we are a shallow, self-absorbed,
prejudiced, gluttonous, and violent people. Facts support these charges.
We must respond to the truth in them or be doomed to perpetual terror.
The terrorists are succeeding. Our ill-conceived war mentions them every
day. World opinion about us is at historic lows. Wrapping prudent
defensive measures in the language of war or Hollywood does not protect us.
An eye for an eye will lead to an eye for an eye. Any thought to the
contrary is deluded and will only lead to a false sense of security.
We must follow our own counsel to war-ravaged nations and end the madness of
war. We should launch a Peace Initiative under the auspices of the New
York-based United Nations and devote ourselves to an inconceivable good that
memorializes those who fell on 9/11. Fund AIDS programs, provide debt
relief for developing nations, capitalize alternative energy institutes.
Our response to terror should be informed by the lessons of modern history.
Our teachers trod the paths of terror before us and won victories without
firing a shot-Gandhi, Gorbachev, King, Sadat. These men of vastly
different nations, colors, creeds, and times, show the way. They applied
themselves to a just cause--the unity of mankind--and their followers
rallied, withstood the onslaught of hate, and prevailed over evil. We
should do likewise.
After 9/11, many people asked, ""Why do they hate us so much?"" The answer
holds the key to making successful foreign policy. But, America ignores the
answer and continues to mishandle an explosion of apocalyptic rage that can
be all too easily repeated.
The grievances against the U.S. are many and damning. The terrorists say
that we are a terrorist nation, exporting arms and conducting wars of
self-interest at will. They say we are a shallow, self-absorbed,
prejudiced, gluttonous, and violent people. Facts support these charges.
We must respond to the truth in them or be doomed to perpetual terror.
The terrorists are succeeding. Our ill-conceived war mentions them every
day. World opinion about us is at historic lows. Wrapping prudent
defensive measures in the language of war or Hollywood does not protect us.
An eye for an eye will lead to an eye for an eye. Any thought to the
contrary is deluded and will only lead to a false sense of security.
We must follow our own counsel to war-ravaged nations and end the madness of
war. We should launch a Peace Initiative under the auspices of the New
York-based United Nations and devote ourselves to an inconceivable good that
memorializes those who fell on 9/11. Fund AIDS programs, provide debt
relief for developing nations, capitalize alternative energy institutes.
Our response to terror should be informed by the lessons of modern history.
Our teachers trod the paths of terror before us and won victories without
firing a shot-Gandhi, Gorbachev, King, Sadat. These men of vastly
different nations, colors, creeds, and times, show the way. They applied
themselves to a just cause--the unity of mankind--and their followers
rallied, withstood the onslaught of hate, and prevailed over evil. We
should do likewise.
Collection
Citation
“tp185.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed May 3, 2024, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/792.