Erik's Rail News

Be Brave and Thoughtful

People say the reason terrorists attack us is because they hate freedom. That's not the whole story and it's delusional and dangerous to think so.

There are lots of upsetting reasons to hate us. Just look at the election issues. Gay marriage, abortion, war, the promised land, pornography reaching children. Whatever side you take, these are potent issues. It's not okay to kill people over them, but obviously they are starting points for considering why some people in poor countries with different values go crazy.

Obviously we can't just sit down and talk to people who blow us up. We need to forcibly disable and disrupt terrorists. But that's not enough. We need to also, at the same time, simulateously, disable and disrupt the forces which cultivate and recruit terrorists.

And this is where ordinary people like you and me come in. We need to be missionaries of tolerance and understanding. We must succeed because failure is a disgrace shared by everyone, including you.

I'm not eligible to vote in the election, but I think I think John Kerry would be better at fighting a two-pronged war than George Bush. The Washington Post supports Kerry in their editorial.

Erik Sandblom