Perspective: Readers respond to the attack on our nation

My phone has been ringing a lot since the tragedy in New York and Washington, D.C. Everyone wants me to participate or help them pull together an interfaith service, find a Muslim to speak for all Muslims (the way we often expect an African-American or woman to represent all blacks or women). In a way it's gratifying to know that some people care enough to endeavor to create opportunities for learning and, hopefully, healing. But the wounds are far deeper than ad hoc emergency meetings called in the face of crises can heal. Why do we always wait for a tragedy before we are compelled to act?

The crisis that precipitated this new round of compassion, guilt, recriminations and anger was catastrophic, unprecedented in this country, but there are people in our community who have experienced disasters of similar or greater proportions in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, the former Yugoslavia and in the Holocaust. They know, all too well, the results of prejudice and discrimination. We know the antidote is to create a community where every person is treated with dignity and respect. The mechanism for accomplishing this is through dialogue that breaks down the stereotypes that feed the fears of desperate men and women. After all, that is why my phone is so busy these days -- people know the power of the spoken word. Why do they have to wait for a crisis to come together?

Join the National Conference for Community and Justice, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and Color Me Human for a community dialogue "Coming Together for Peace" on Wednesday from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Florida Holocaust Museum, 55 Fifth St. S, St. Petersburg, if you want to be part of the solution.

And remember, Judaism, Christianity and Islam have similar roots. They all expect their adherents to love one another and treat everyone as brothers and sisters. Now if we would only practice what we preach.
-- H. Roy Kaplan, executive director, National Conference for Community and Justice, Tampa Bay Chapter, St. Petersburg

Our steely determination

I'd like to express what every American must be thinking and convey our deepest sympathies and prayers for the loss of loved ones in the terrorism perpetrated on our country on Sept. 11. Heroism seems too small a word to describe the selfless efforts of firefighters, police, emergency medical personnel, and volunteers who worked tirelessly to save lives. They touch and inspire us. Their efforts, their heroism, will forever be imprinted in our memories as they valiantly struggled to save the lives of stunned white, pink and blue-collared workers. Abraham Lincoln's words at the Gettysburg battlefield seem to echo. "The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it will never forget what they did here."

America lost its innocence, its belief that the U.S. was impregnable, safe from foreign terrorism. Yet what has replaced our innocence is a steely determination, a resolve to eliminate all who would murder, maim and obliterate using politics as an excuse. This attack and those that preceded it were aimed at destroying everything this country stands for, the tenets and ideals upon which this country was founded.

Though the World Trade Center was demolished, the Pentagon damaged, we must remember that this country is more than glass, steel and concrete. The terrorists struck at symbols of our nation, but it is the people who make a country great. We cannot and will not live in fear. We will not surrender, and, as Lincoln said: "The government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from this earth."
-- Kathryn L. van Heyningen, Palm Harbor

They only understand force

We did not ask for it, but America is at war. We have been attacked by enemies who are cowardly and fanatical. They make no distinction between civilian and military targets. In fact, they prefer to kill innocents as they are much easier targets. Their goal is the complete and utter destruction of our country and our way of life. They will not rest until freedom is lost and they impose their laws and religions on us and the rest of the world.

We as Americans must realize our way of life has changed forever. In this war, there is no distinction between combatants and non-combatants. There is no place to hide and no safe refuge even within our own borders. We are all potential casualties in this war. The rules of engagement have been outlined by those who have attacked us, and there are no rules.

It is time for us to understand and to acknowledge that in order to win this war and for us to survive as a nation of free people, we must first identify the perpetrators of this heinous act, then devote ourselves to the complete and utter destruction of them, their supporters, and any person or nation that gives them assistance or refuge.

As history has taught us when dealing with fanatics, there is no containing or negotiating with these people. They only understand force. Americans and civilized people everywhere will not be safe until the fanatics realize that acts or even threats of terrorism will be met with retribution -- so quick and terrible as to make the cost too high to even consider such cowardly attacks.
-- Jonathan Nye, St. Petersburg

Patriotism is rekindled

Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001 will forever be engraved in our minds. Through this terrible tragedy we are experiencing, we mourn the wonderful brothers and sisters we have lost. We pray, comfort and cry with the families and friends in mourning. We cheer and cry when another survivor is found alive.

Even though this is the worst tragedy that America has ever faced, all of us in this country, including myself, are finding deep feelings of patriotism, compassion and love that seemed to have been buried somewhere deep within all of us just waiting to emerge. I am so proud and bursting with pride to be an American that tears just keep coming to my eyes. I am extremely proud of our president. I am proud of all the wonderful agencies, such as the FBI, the military, the firefighters, police, National Guard and every other group and agency involved. Best of all, we the people have come together to love, comfort, mourn, volunteer, pray, donate blood and do our best to help each other in any way possible.

There was no racism last week, no petty arguments from Congress about spending money, no road rage, and the list goes on and on. We came together as a united force, the united country that we were always meant to be. We have shed many tears, and we have become stronger as a nation. We the people will survive this vicious attack on us, and we the people will eventually put our lives back together, and best of all, we the people will never be the same again. And I say "Thank God" to that.

As horrible as this vicious and devastating attack on our country was, I believe we have shown ourselves and the world America's true colors. This may very well be America's finest moment.
-- Barbara Smigels, Clearwater

President spoke from the heart

The president speaks on his own just fine. After the telephone conference call with New York City's mayor, President Bush took questions from reporters. In previous speeches he has always appeared stiff and aloof, but his responses at that time showed me a man who is truly a leader. I saw patience, determination, anger, and a compassion I've never seen in a public official before. I know now that he wants these terrorists found as much as I do. Maybe he should speak from his heart more often and leave the speechwriters home.
-- Susan Mena, Clearwater

Tell children the truth, but sensitively

Our national family is negotiating the nightmare of Tuesday morning's horrible crimes. The terrorists who opened these wounds, killing and maiming our brothers and sisters, parents and grandparents, struck each of us, if not in body, then in conscience. Not since Pearl Harbor has this nation been so severely injured by enemy aggression. And never again will anyone of our generation feel a true sense of security at home, at work, or in our travels.

We who care for children -- our own and other people's -- have the obligation to translate our feelings of fright and fear in ways that do not harm our children. Children need to know the truth, but need it told in special ways that are sensitive to their capacity to understand. Our children believe in those whom they trust most. We must try to express ourselves in ways that respect the sensibilities of developing young minds -- from toddlerhood to the teen years.

While our nation's leaders plan their best methods of strategic response, we, too, have the opportunity to respond in ways that create comfort for children who need guidance and a sense of self-value.

First, we should show earnest sympathy for the families who lost loved ones. The finality of death, as opposed to the cartoon or video game versions so many children believe are real, must be explained to be understood. While our faiths may hold that spiritual life is perpetual, a child needs to grasp the fact that dying is a part of living.

While our shock is natural, it should not translate into a sense of helplessness in the wake of this unnatural disaster. Contributions of blood, time, talent, and treasure to the relief efforts are ways to begin the rebuilding, physically and emotionally.

Advocating acts of retribution alone, which some feel is essential to punish the perpetrators of these crimes, may give children a false sense of justice. We should reveal to children that there are motives to all behavior, no matter how evil and misguided those motives may be. Understanding and addressing what motivates malevolent actions is the key to preventing future repetition of similar acts.

Finally, our basic human needs for tenderness, touching and talking are necessary to assure each other that our feelings for one another are real and can survive beyond the terror of the moment. Giving of ourselves to another with open arms and open ears will provide each of us the hope that we can, and will, survive our collective tragedy.

We are each other's inspiration at times of sorrow and celebration. From our families to yours, we wish you the strength to persevere, the sensibility to learn life's lessons and the sensitivity to share yourself with others in need.
-- Jack Levine, Center for Florida's Children, Tallahassee

Bring back the sky marshals

A photograph on the cover of Newsweek magazine in 1969 of a Boeing 707 being engulfed in a fireball in a Middle Eastern desert is as vivid in my mind's eye as the Times front-page photo of the aircraft ramming into the World Trade Center.

Shortly after the hijackings and aircraft destructions, then-President Richard Nixon ordered that armed officers be placed onboard U.S. aircraft. By December 1969, a sky marshal program was initiated even though there was no existing force for this type of duty. Experienced special agents, investigators and military personnel were tapped for this assignment while a permanent force was recruited and trained.

After a few days of indoctrination to the configuration of 707s and 747s, the agents were traveling incognito aboard international flights and flying to and from all parts of the world. In those days, most agents were armed with only six-shot revolvers and one pouch containing six more rounds. A typical route was Pan American Airlines Flight No. 1, which flew from Kenney International Airport to London, then to Paris, to Frankfurt, to Rome, to Rangoon, to Karachi, and finally to Bangkok. With layovers, it took about a week to complete the one-way journey.

During the flights, neither aircraft crew nor passengers joked about hijackings, although some passengers tried to figure out who might be the onboard "sky marshal." Few complained about the additional security that caused some delays, and, for the most part, the traveling public accepted these inconveniences. During the sky marshal program's four- or five-year existence, no U.S. aircraft was hijacked. Having been one of the first pre-sky marshal agents, my belief is that it is once again time to immediately implement this most effective program. As was previously the situation, there is an existing pool of retired or former military personnel who could be trained in minimal time. Lessons, too, can be learned from Israel's El Al airlines, which has maintained a very stringent air security posture.
-- Donald G. Turnbaugh, Palm Harbor

The experience of racism

Ever wonder what it's like to be on the receiving end of racism, and prejudice? Well, we found out on Tuesday. Everyone of us, regardless of race, color or creed, was hated for our culture, our belief in freedom, capitalism and pursuit of happiness. We were hated for being what we all are -- Americans.
-- Michael Osborne, Seminole

Dialogue, not reprisals

It is with heavy heart I read the letters to the St. Petersburg Times. Their tone is almost uniformly one of unabashed, righteous vengeance. The general consensus is "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition."

But chest banging, flag waving and religious intolerance are what got us into this mess in the first place. We have apparently not learned the lessons of our own history.

As it was so aptly stated in The Ugly American, you cannot win a war against a dedicated organization buried in the social infrastructure. This is why we lost in Vietnam. We are in open sight, an easy target, but our enemy is hidden.

You cannot bomb an enemy you cannot find. You cannot bomb an enemy if innocents will perish, because then you are as bad as the enemy.

There is no defense against terrorism. Strike back with military force and you will not eradicate your enemy. The survivors will be more determined. And their next attack could be nuclear.

So it is foolish to talk of military reprisals. Like it or not, we have to open a dialogue with the terrorists. We have to find out what they want and meet them halfway.
-- Pete Edwards, Seminole

Muslims condemn terrorism

The Islamic Community of Tampa Bay is extremely horrified and saddened by the tragedy last Tuesday in New York and Washington, D.C. Our hearts and prayers are with the families of the victims of this horrible and despicable crime. We condemn this heinous act. No religion or faith would ever sanction this evil, and we hope that the perpetrators, regardless of their faith or ideology, will be brought to justice soon.

Pointing fingers at Islam or the Muslim community is wrong. If it turns out that the perpetrators of the tragedy are Muslims, they are Muslims as Timothy McVeigh was a Christian. President Bush's statement against making Arab and Muslim-Americans scapegoats is much appreciated.

In the past few days, over 75 members of the Muslim community have donated blood. In addition, the Islamic Community of Tampa joined with other Christian churches in a memorial and prayer service at the St. James House of Prayers. The Muslim community in Brooksville has collected and sent $10,000 to the victims fund in New York. Despite the Tampa Bay Muslim community's extreme agony and sadness over the tragedy of last Tuesday, the community has been the target of ugly hate crimes and backlashes. A gun was fired at the mosque of the Hernando County Islamic Center in Brooksville. Anti-Muslim graffiti was placed on the home of an official of Tampa's mosque and on a car of a Muslim resident in the St. Petersburg area. Several hate e-mails, in some cases threatening lives, have been sent, including one to the imam (pastor) of the Islamic Community of Tampa Bay's mosque. Because of their Islamic attire, several female members have been harassed and cursed when they were shopping or even driving. A sport's shop owner in Ocala put a sign on his store saying "No Muslims."

These incidents pale in comparison to the massive tragedy in New York and Washington, D.C. But Arab-Americans and Muslim-Americans must not be made to suffer twice, once at the hands of the terrorists, and another at the hands of their fellow citizens.
-- Sami A. Al-Arian, USF professor and imam of the Islamic Community of Tampa Bay, Tampa

Struggling to understand

My name is Alexa Barnhill. I am 10 years old. I attend Bay Crest Elementary. My teachers, my classmates, and my friends have been talking about the issues in New York. Although I am very young, I still am old enough to understand how I feel.

I know what's going on and I know what has happened, but what I don't know is what to think. America is the home of the free and the land of the brave. The terrorists may be brave but they are not free. Also what I don't understand is why America keeps giving so much even though it is receiving so little.

I could not put in words how important living in America is to me. I feel honored, blessed and extremely lucky. No matter what happens, I will never forget the courageous people who lived, died, served, and conquered the day of Sept. 11, 2001. So, yes, we have lost many great people, but we have also gained many angels who shall ever rest in peace.
-- Alexa Barnhill, Tampa

Impediments to peace

Ironic, isn't it? If it weren't for the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths, we would probably have the one thing they all claim to want. Peace.
-- Bob Dalzell, St. Petersburg

Make a sacrifice for safety

I, for one, am ready for my Big Brother -- a k a the U.S. government -- to step in and protect me during my frequent air travel. One of the pitfalls of living in a terrorism-free country has been increasingly lax security. Recently my wife and I had to prompt an airline ticket agent to check our drivers' licenses. She was ready to send us to the gate and bypass the first line of defense, matching a face with a name.

I have proposed to the president in an e-mail the instituting of a national ID card. It would be a credit card version of our passport. It would be required of every person seeking entry into a secure area, whether it be an airline concourse, a passenger train, or a Greyhound bus. It would facilitate the profiling necessary in this Cowardly New World (to borrow from Aldous Huxley) and would be a more secure and official document than a state driver's license. It could be a smart card that keeps track of where I've been and would red-flag me for questioning to make sure I'm one of the good guys.

And if a foreign visitor doesn't have a U.S. Passport Card, then additional ID, questioning, and perhaps searching would be in order. I will add an hour to my airport arrival time to be subjected to the same scrutiny if it results in my ultimate safety and the safety of my fellow passengers -- not to mention piece of mind.

I welcome my Big Brother to intervene on my behalf.
-- Ed Kaufholz, Seminole

Don't deflect blame for terror

Bill Maxwell's column of Sept. 9, Israeli rejection of U.N. conference silenced potential talks, was disturbing already last Sunday and Monday. With the tragic events of Tuesday, his comments are infuriating.

Maxwell has a reputation for blaming Israel for every wrong in the Middle East. In this particular column, he goes so far as to blame Israel for the results of the U.N. Conference on Racism. Israel, attacked politically at the conference by a coalition of Arab states, becomes the scapegoat for the very attack. He even blames Israel for failing to attend, while at the same time acknowledging that "the level of anti-Semitism among many Arab conferees posed real physical danger to Israelis who would have attended." Isn't that called blaming the victim?

Maxwell rarely mentions the terrorist attacks in Israel and the suffering of innocent Israeli civilians. Whether motivated by bias or simple naivete, Maxwell consistently fails to pin responsibility for terror and violence on the active perpetrators. Will the horrific attack on our own country teach Maxwell to recognize that those who use terror are the true enemies of peace and justice? Or will he, as usual, find a way to blame Israel? Sadly, I think I already know his answer.
-- Jeremy Gaies, Tampa

Let's drop the hyphens

In light of the tragedy that has brought this nation back together, maybe it is now time for the media and everyone else to stop referring to people as hyphenated-Americans, i.e., Italian-Americans, Asian-Americans, etc. We are all Americans. If you are born in this country or naturalized, you are an American. I quite frankly am proud of my heritage, but even prouder to have been born in the greatest country in the world -- America.
-- Carol A. Hess, Hudson

Share your opinions

We invite readers to write to us. Letters for publication should be addressed to Letters to the Editor, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731.

They can be sent by e-mail to letters@sptimes.com or by fax to (727) 893-8675.

They should be brief and must include the writer's name, address and phone number. Please include a handwritten signature when possible.

Letters may be edited for clarity, taste and length. We regret that not all letters can be published.

Back to Perspective

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright

From the Times
Opinion page