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Attack on U.S.A.; the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

© Jennie S. Bev

Americans were shocked yesterday. Four U.S. commercial airplanes, which symbolized U.S. aviation and technology power, were used by terrorists to attack our symbols of power: the twin towers of World Trade Center (economic power) and the Pentagon (military power). Many analysts believe that the White House or the Capitol (symbol of political power) was also targeted, but somehow the fourth plane failed the mission and crashed in Pennsylvania.

Without a return address, everybody is puzzled by the incident. Nobody is absolutely sure about the attackers: who they are, what their motives and political goals are, even though the fingers are currently pointing to Osama bin Laden, a wealthy Saudi militant harbored by Afghanistan.

As a nation and a people, U.S.A. is now in deep grief and rage. We have succeeded as a nation, achieving a high level of economic and political power internationally for decades. In international relations among nations, we have been accustomed to the special privileges for being Americans. We are renowned as a part of the modern civilized world trendsetter: we believe in democracy, we believe in equality and, above all, we believe in human rights set forth in the Declaration of Human Rights.

Something as tragic as the second Tuesday of September (the 11th), yesterday, must have struck us straight at the core of our beings. Our hearts stopped, our minds tried to deny all the facts about the suicide attacks. Is U.S.A. really under attack now? Don't those attackers understand the meaning of human equality? Don't those attackers value human lives? Are they, after all, humans?

We were shocked. Deeply traumatized. For a moment, those humane values that we have been adhering to since the inception of this great nation seemed to disappear. We wanted to retaliate. We want justice. President Bush, on behalf of the government and the people, expressed his anger in a press conference shortly after the attacks using the words "cowards" and "hunt down and punish."

Our government and its officials are now doing their best to uncover the truths behind this grand conspiracy. Our humanity and political leadership have never been tested to this extreme. Should we retaliate? What are the "acts of war" to perform? Are we, after all, ready to do so? What impact will it make to our nation and history? There are so many questions to answer; there are so many concepts to act upon.

Nobody is an expert in this situation. A nation as great as the U.S.A. is grieving and angry. We are ready to do anything within our power to mend this situation. The only (practical and philosophical) question is how?