Harvey Newstrom wrote:
> > how many on this list are emotionally
> devastated by this
> > >attack? I know I am.
> I have worked in the WTC and the Pentagon in my security work.
Besides personal ties, I've been emotionally devastated at the thought of
what was destroyed--reading the names and occupations of the people already
known to be dead; seeing photos of the WTC as it was and as it is now.
I also feel fear of what might come next, regardless of what US leaders
choose to do. The underlying causes of hostility are complex and have
already happened. Failure to secure the rights US oil companies in mineral
leases; religious fanaticism, some of which the US has subsidized; the
insatiable need of the US for oil; the US policy of setting up weak men as
dictators and then bullying them, etc. Now the price must be paid.
Here's something the architect of the WTC said about his project: 'The
World Trade Center should, ... because of its importance, become a living
representation of man's belief in humanity, his need for individual dignity,
his belief in the cooperation of men, and through this cooperation his
ability to find greatness.'
http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/World_Trade_Center.html
I do believe that the people responsible for yesterday's death and
destruction should be harshly dealt with in order to discourage such acts in
the future. But it would be counterproductive to let a desire for revenge
cause us to lose sight of those qualities Yamasaki sought to represent when
he designed the WTC. I'm greatly disturbed by reckless talk of war, knowing
that in modern wars, the people who pay the highest price are ordinary
people who had no desire to participate in the wheeling and dealing and
quarrels of their political leaders.
Before we set out to inflict more death and destruction, it would make sense
to objectively examine our past behavior to see if there's anything we might
constructively change about ourselves.
Barbara
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