 Friday, October 5, 2001
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Approaching BreakPoint!
For a different take on our current world situation, please listen to the following radio interview with contributing editor and author Barry Carter.
Listen to the interview
Justice, Not War |
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by Kevin Danaher |
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| A momentous decision confronts us as a nation: Do we define the violence of Sept. 11 as an act of war or as a crime against humanity? If we define it as war, it couches the issues in nationalist sentiment and separates us from the people of other nations. If we define it as a crime against humanity, it holds the potential for uniting humankind against the scourge of terrorism.
Defining our national stance as "war" takes us more in the direction of the garrison state. We are already one of the most heavily armed societies in history. Need we go further in that direction -- killing innocent foreigners and restricting our own freedoms -- before we realize it is the wrong direction for our country?
Rather than relying on the failed policies of the past and pushing the world into a descending vortex of violence, we need to help people move forward to a world of justice and peace.
Much as we may want to demonize the people who organized the mass violence of Sept. 11, we must admit that the sophistication of the attack tells us these people are capable of rational thought. If we attack indiscriminately and kill innocent people, the photos of those dead Muslims will be the greatest recruiting tool the terrorists could ask for. Do we want to strengthen their outreach capabilities among the 1 billion Muslims of the world?
Read the full article |
