It's a pity how some people want to harm other people. And what has happened today in Bangalore is so meaningless.
What do we, citizens of Bangalore, do now? Be afraid and sit at home? Can we do that? Or rather, should we really do that? Should we be friendly to strangers or to a certain community? While in this dilemma, I came across this write-up. It's an eye-opener.
So read on and God forbid, you face a similar dilemma, you know what to do.
Please read and share your views.
"Bin Laden and his followers have done us enormous damage. Our emotions want revenge, healing, and a reason. Most of us will never truly grasp that this is done in the name of God and serving God. If you don't grasp that, you will never be able to find an answer to why.
How do we protect ourselves? Do we avoid the Olympics? Do we not go to the Super Bowl? Do I stay out of the Tower of London, The Eiffel Tower and the St. Charles Bridge in Prague?
The answer is that you can make your life a life of purpose. I have to be honest, I wouldn't go to the Super Bowl this year and I wouldn't go to the Olympics. But I'm flying 8 times in the next month, including trips to London and Warsaw. The risk of any one plane being hi-jacked is very real. Not likely to happen by Bin Laden's followers but more likely to happen by other similar terrorist organizations. That's part of the problem with radical fundamentalist attacks. There are more than one set and group. The copy cat strategy is no doubt being planned somewhere by a bin Laden wannabe.
But the large scale event is out there and it probably has been planned and it probably is nothing you or I can protect against. If we evacuate the streets we probably will be safer in the near term but then the only people in the street are those that do evil...and that will ultimatley lead to an unsafe America...or London.
What we must do is spend money. Bin Laden has won forever if we curl up and die. We must help our economy, travel, buy clothes, stay at hotels, fly those airplanes. The world revolves around capital markets. Did you hear how many people are going to lose their jobs because of this attack? Hundreds of thousands. And there will be more if you don't go to McDonalds this week and spend money. So, go out tonight...somewhere. Spend money. Take a friend to dinner. Leave a big tip. Demand good service...in other words...be as normal as you can.
We must be NICE. The guy with a covering on his head in the Mosque on the corner didn't do this. The odds of you running into a terrorist on the street are remote. Let the FBI, the CIA and the governments of the world get these guys. You? Smile. Help an old lady across the street. Offer to help the Arab looking lady with her groceries. In the USA there are 6 million Arab Americans. 5.95 million of them are damn nice people. They hurt too. Worse, they are hurt in two ways. They feel anger and guilt. Be nice. They had as much to do with the attacks as you and me. Absolutely none. Most of the people involved in the suicide attacks were here illegally. The Justice Department will investigate and they will hold people who may be involved. That's their jobs.
The coming weeks and months may get eerily quiet in other ways. If we fail at finding and eliminating terrorists and we will not eliminate all of them...then remember that you can only live for yourself, your family, your friends and if you have a god...for him/her. Make them proud. There is no reason for the everyday person in the USA to express anything but kindness toward those that live here.
Bin Laden and his scary crew are currently winning this war. Have confidence in your government (this time at least) and the governments of the world . They WILL and MUST act to extricate terrorism. It will hurt some people's civil liberties and we will all wait longer at the airport. But, we will be safer because of it.
Honor the lives and deaths of those innocent people who died last week by showing respect for your neighbor. Bring us all a little closer together.
Nothing will be the same. Fifty years from now your kids and grandkids will talk about this period of time like we do about Vietnam and WWII. It will be viewed as a changing point in world history. What will they be saying about you? "
Excerpts from a book by Kevin Hogan
