A giant step for mankind

Backwards.


The hijackers didn't do anything wrong. Just ask one of the ones who didn't get the job. They see us as evil. We see them as evil. Both are right, and wrong, depending only on who is judging.


The enemy is known and familiar. Bigotry. In the biggest of pictures, the most terrifying result of 9/11 is the wave of nationalistic bloodlust that grips our country.


We of the western culture pretend to be ethically enlightened compared to other groups that share our gene pool. We brag of our achievements in tearing down the walls of bigotry; racial, gender, religious, cultural. We smuggly brag, right up until a crisis. Then, all of a sudden, just because another culture does not share our respect for an indiviual life, we see fit to adopt THEIR view, and join in the slaughter with guns and flags held high.


This, then, is a test of our claim to enlightenment. We can fight hate with hate, or we can fight hate with tolerance, globally and personally. If bigotry is to ever end, someone has to not hate back.


Tommy