We made our own flags.
It took a couple of days for the shock to subside. When we finally
knew we had to do something, flying a flag seemed like a beginning.
Like the rest of America, we headed for the mall seeking one and
only one item: A flag of the United States of America. Trouble
was, once united in purpose, the vast majority of Americans had
the same thought. All flags were sold out at every store we visited.
We waited. A new Walmart Supercenter (God Bless America!) enjoyed
a grand opening on the 19th. We thought for sure if we were there when
the doors opened, we'd get a chance to buy our flag. Alas, a few
hundred other Reno residents had the same thought...there was a mad
rush for one and only one thing when the doors opened at 9am that morning...
and we found ourselves still frustrated in our purpose. So we bought material
and glue there at the new Walmart, and we made our flags.
---
The Bene Gesserit Litany against Fear
- from the sci-fi classic
"Dune" by Frank Herbert.
I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.
Fear is now part of our culture in America. Not since the hey-day
of the Cold War has the threat of global annihilation seemed so
real. In retrospect, it was always that real. The sleeper has awakened.
There some voices in America today that would have us surrender to
fear. Not many, but some....students, pacifists, and others. The
fear of global war is too much -- facing the potential of a faceless
"holy war" is too much to consider. But how can we not? How can we not
face this fear? Just consider the alternative...what if we did nothing?
Better yet, what if we pulled all support for Israel, implode like
the twin towers, pull all troops from the area, and stop even buying oil
from the Middle East. What would the world be like if America let fear
drive policies to such ends?
Would Israel die? Probably not. Not until the Terrorist regimes
actually secure nuclear weapons. Then not only Israel, but the entire
west would be subject to a Hitler-like threat unlike any mankind has
ever seen. Radical Islam does not respect the humanity of anyone outside
their closed circle. Indeed, even devout Muslims are punished under the
Taliban regime. These "students" are the personification of the kind
of evil that emerges through "humans" when belief systems fail to recognize
the fundamentally connected nature of the universe in which we live.
We are all one. The illusion of separation is a necessary thing for us;
likely a strategy to grow our "souls" if you will. But we are connected.
Fundamentally and completely. The Taliban has no clue when it comes
to such a knowing. Their anger is likely a function of immature masculine
energies gone mad, manipulated by what we can only comprehend as "evil".
But their light, and that of all Terrorists all over this world, need now
be extinguished, for the good of all. The good of the many outweigh
the good of the few; or the good of the one. All nations, save the
corrupt Taliban regime and that of the Iraqi madman-cum-dictator, have
condemned the 9/11 attacks. Terrorism must die now. These are
irrational men with irrational goals, with ideas which have no place in the
human noosphere...not if we value an actual future for our species.
If you find that you cannot conscience the coming war, consider this - under
a Taliban regime, you would have no choice and no voice. You would
not be allowed to "protest" a coming war if you lived in Afghanistan
(or Iraq for that matter...). Under their belief system, you'd be dead if
you were:
gay
a woman and not illiterate
not a devout Muslim (Hindus must, by "law" (Taliban decree), wear yellow
garb, to be easily identified...and espousing Christianity is strictly
forbidden, i.e.: death)
vocal in disagreement with any of their policies
guilty of any number of minor human imperfections
The Taliban, and all radical Islamic elements, have no place in the
modern world; they represent a belief system that was marginalized on this
planet even before science came along...that radical element of Islam
serves only to manipulate and stir the passions of primarily illiterate
people. Half the adults on our planet cannot read. Given the much higher
levels of adult literacy in the West, it is no wonder that in places like
Somalia, where
Osama bin Laden killed 18 U.S. Marines during a U.N. humanitarian mission, more
that three quarters of the adults cannot read. Afghanistan is no different.
Our enemy is illiteracy too. Once we extinguish Terrorism....indeed,
as we eliminate Terrorism, elimination of illiteracy
on Terra must be one of our strategic goals. Only then, when people
have hope which can only come from freedom, knowledge and the opportunity
that comes with it, will we move forward as a species.
Yes, there is a Jihad coming. It's the holy war between Freedom and Fear,
as President Bush has said. Freedom is our religion. Fear is the
mindkiller...we cannot live long and prosper in fear. Thus, we must fight.
It's either that or we die as a species and the great human experiment comes
to an end. Which is less unthinkable? A holy war or the end of
humanity? While we may risk the end of humanity by fighting this
war, we are assured of the end of humanity if we do not.
If
there's hope for humanity it's in software