(via JEP – Oct 9, 2001)
“Many of our forefathers, if not most, came to this country to escape intolerance, particularly religious intolerance, but also intolerance in many forms. The perpetrator of [the 9/11] cowardly and heinous acts are extremists and fanatics who, about all else, believe that their way is the ONLY WAY, and those who do not believe as they do – should be annihilated!
We need to be vigilant in our protection of the ideals on which this country was founded. We cannot become the enemy.
We need to cease attempting to place blame on our former President(s), our current or past FBI, CIA, FAA, airline procedures or personnel, or {in fact} anyone other than the hijackers and their supporters.
If someone is making it their primary goal to kill you, it is almost impossible for anyone or any agency to ensure that it will not happen. We can now scrutinize our regulations and practices, and make efforts to tighten security and therefore deter some of the attempts to terrorize, but it is impossible to absolutely guarantee that no attempts will succeed.
It is not the fault of anyone but the perpetrators of this crime, and our efforts should be concentrated on punishing them for their crimes. Since these people seem to find death a ticket to martyrdom, eventual punishement may still not deter others from future attempts.
Our efforts should also be concentrated on keeping our great country at its best. As was said in the movie: Apollo 13, “on the contrary, I believe this will be our finest hour”.
Let us be vigilant in making this our finest hour, be realistic in our efforts to secure ourselves, and place the blame where it all belongs – on the perpetrators and their protectors and supporters.”