[m brown]

my brother wrote today:

"I haven't heard anyone say this so I will,
We (New Yorkers) are made up of every race and nationality of this
world.
We may not love each other but we live in peace, for the most part, on a

12x1 mile piece of land. There are close to 7 million of us. When you
bomb
us, you bomb yourself. Let us hope that cooler heads and leadership will

prevail. I hope we can turn this act of hate into a foundation of
healing
and world unity and not escalation of more hate and more violence. I am
proud to be a part of New York and it's people. Everybody is involved
and
cooperating to help the innocent victims. It gives me hope in a very
dark
place.

It is a beautiful day. I am glad I am here to see it. Take some time off
and
celebrate your life. It can vanish too quickly."


much love to all.

[Isa]

Life is fragile indeed. Our world is fragile. It now has changed forever. Things will never be the same. We’ll look at planes flying above our head and wonder if it will follow is course. We will live in fear and everything around us will remind us of this fear. Every time we walk into a high-rise we will think of the World Trade Center.

We look in horror at a TV hoping it’s just yet another scenario from Hollywood then realised no writer could imagine such a unbelievable act of hatred committed by a man against mankind.

The world as we knew it is lost under the rubble.

[cape chef]

As we all read these posts, and watch TV I must say that we as a people must stand strong and united,Do not let what has happened cripple our resolve and spirit.

If we live in fear then they have won.
We will defeat this evil!!
Brad

Hi All -

We need to remember that violence will only beget more violence - there is no way that either side will ever be satisfied that the other has been hurt enough.

The path of peace has never been an easy one, but we need to stay the course. Whether we know someone or know someone who knows someone who lost their lives or loved ones in this monstrous act, vengeance will accomplish nothing in the larger view of things.

Like we used to say when I was less grey and not so well-upholstered, "make love, not war."

Peace and blessings to all -
Marye

[Greg]

So true, Mary. If the person(s) responsible for this are brought to justice in a violent way, then they become martyrs to their cause and the cycle of violence perpetuates itself. However, if we do nothing violent (as we have done in the past), still the terrorists commit violent acts. I have never been a proponent of bringing one's self down to the level that an adversary has stooped to, but the lives at stake in this situation may dicatate such a course of action. Some are griping that President Bush is taking too long to respond to this attack; I personally admire the way he he is handling this. It's a hard decision on the course we should take and he should take time before he commits to anything. And God, Buddha or Allah willing, the right decision will be made. BTW, for the record, I refer to the Allah that true followers of Islam believe in, not the self-serving belief in Allah of those such as Osama bin Laden! From my understanding of Islam, such as it is, Allah is as much against the killing of innocents as the god of Judaism and Christianity is.

[W.DeBord]

My head gets stuck when I read Nicko mentioning a book that has similarites to these events. My heart is furious with a current movie I keep seeing promotions for thats shows students creating violence in school. I hold my breath as I hear some details on T.V., knowing we are telling the whole world our every thought and advance move.

I'm certainly not for any banning of media or sensoring any of our rights or our freedom of speech! I realize how important they are and how they protect us.

But...We are seeing heros in mind boggling quantities. REAL heros. Real people to show our children for years and years to come. People who don't make astronomical salaries. Many heros who gave their lives helping!

I wish we could focus on those heros and not give any attention to the people that take away from us (because that's what they want).

I'm also very worried about the financial markets, we must continue to work and spend money. Keep our economy strong in this trying time. So much of our future will relate to it!

Here's your excuse to buy those cookbooks your dreaming about.

[Kimmie]

I just remembered, the Lone Gunman series featured one episode where a commercial airplane slammed into the WTC!

I just hope fiction was not used as inspiration for these terrorists!