C'punks, Here's a thoughtful piece I received from Sean Hastings: > From: Sean Hastings [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > Sent: 12 September, 2001 20:22 > Subject: FW: "Attack on America" - a Personal Response > > > > . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . > "Attack on America" - a Personal Response > by Sean Hastings > > My wife Jo, my dog Wasabi, and myself were all in New York City at the > time of the attack on the World Trade Center. Thankfully we are all > alive and unharmed. > > Although we were just a few miles from the site of the crashes, we were > alerted to what was going on by a friend's phone call and turned on the > news to watch. Safely insulated from it all by the magic of television, > we saw the Twin Towers burn and collapse knowing that tens of thousands > of people were probably still inside. Later, as we were able to get > through on a somewhat overloaded telephone network, we called our > friends and family around the world to assure them that we were safe, > and we called our New York friends to make sure that they too were ok. > > Some friends I talked to personally witnessed the second jet strike the > tower and saw people leaping to their deaths to escape the flames. One > told me the story of a London office connected to its New York > branch in > the World Trade Center by a live video link. Their trapped co-workers > told them that they were unable to leave the building, and that they > knew they were all going to die, then the screen went blank at the same > time as the TV news showed one of the towers collapse. > > Communications technology has brought this tragedy to all of us more > closely than was ever before possible. An entire nation, and perhaps > most of the world was able to watch these events unfold in real time. > Feedback of reactions from around the world was also available in real > time. Most people were shocked and horrified, but I also saw > reports of > people in some countries cheering and celebrating this attack on the > US. My first reaction was very emotional - I found myself thinking > "Bomb them back into the stone age" - and this shocked me. I consider > myself to be an individualist to the core, but I now know that a blind > loyalty to the group does exists somewhere deep inside me. At that > moment, I would have been willing to unthinkingly follow anyone > claiming to know how to justly avenge these acts, and prevent any more > such in the future. > > Then I saw the start of the political rhetoric - various politicians > declaring that this was a time for supporting our leaders, and not > questioning or second-guessing their actions - law enforcement > officials saying that this was precisely why they all needed greater > powers over my life. Before the fires were even out - while people > were still burning and being crushed to death under tons of rubble - > there were already people trying to use my emotional reaction to > increase their power over my life and further their careers. > > It was then that I realized that I was witnessing a very real threat to > our nation and our way of life. Not from the kind of disturbed people > who crash airplanes into buildings, but from people who would use such > an event to further erode our freedoms - those masters of demagoguery > who, while claiming to be the good guys, and in the name of defending > our country, our freedom, and our way of life, will try to take away > everything this country is supposed to be about. Even those with only > the best of intentions may severely jeopardize our liberty at a time > like this if they are not careful to give the freedom we tend to take > for granted the highest priority in considering any course of action. > > So I know that a hoard of voices will now be crying out for your > attention, trying to use this event to convince you that we should > take whatever course of action most benefits their own position. I > know that my voice is just a small one in this cacophony, and unless > you agree with my message and forward it far and wide, I will scarcely > be noticed. But I will speak my advice anyway, and hope it does some > good. All I have to say to you is this: > > Do not let your natural reactions of fear or anger help ANYONE to > further their short term political goals, or impose any "temporary" > measures. These are frightening and enraging times indeed, but it is > important to keep this simple truth firmly in mind: You cannot defend > freedom by reducing freedom. The people who try to tell you otherwise > are the ones who should frighten and anger you most. > > We all want security and justice, but we must to be careful about the > price we are willing to pay. If we allow these tragic events to lead > to a reduction of our freedom, then the bad guys win. > > --Sean Hastings > --New York, Sept 12, 2001 > --mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Please forward, summarize, quote, alter, or in any other way use this > text, in whole or part, as you choose. It is placed into the public > domain with no rights reserved or implied. > . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
