Terrorism: A Call to Positive Action
By Glen Hiemstra and Brenda Cooper, 2001
The events of September 11, 2001 are still incomprehensible. Our world will change in important ways. It is too early yet for us to really understand. But we believe this attack changes us in America, and will also change the world.
We at Futurist.com have always believed that how each individual acts affects the future: positively, or negatively. This is a time for positive beliefs, positive actions, and positive expressions of caring. We have seen bravery from rescue workers, support from World Leaders, and many examples of individuals caring for family, friends, neighbors, and strangers.
Each generation faces a different form of world danger. Those of us who are baby boomers spent parts of our school days under desks practicing for nuclear attacks. One likely reason we never experienced the real thing is that we had a strong, healthy, and brave scientific and military community. Brenda’s father was part of that community as an aerospace engineer, working on our defense systems during the Cold War. We know he made a difference. Nevil Shute painted a clear picture for us with his brilliant work “On the Beach.†Another reason we have never had to endure a real nuclear attack is that two horrible events actually happened: Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These tragic actions taught the world the true evil of nuclear war. We are not completely free of this fear, but we have not had to experience the real thing since Hiroshima.
Yesterday, CNN displayed the damage over and over, imprinting deeply onto our retinas and into our hearts the image of a jetliner flashing death into an office tower. We will remember. Let us work to ensure that this disaster teaches us what terrorism is, and that it reaches our collective knowledge in some deep way that helps ensure this kind of event does not happen again, anywhere in the world.
As Americans, we appreciate the words of Prime Minister Blair from Great Britain when he says that September 11, 2001 was “an attack on the free and democratic world as a whole.†As Americans, we deeply appreciate his pledge that, “”People of all faiths and all democratic political persuasions have a common cause: to identify this machinery of terror and to dismantle it as swiftly as possible. With our American friends, and other allies around the world, this is the task to which we now turn.”
We invite you to join our chat area and share messages of hope, positive action, and solidarity against terror. Let us hang up our flags, give blood, and offer help, support, and faith during this time of national disaster. Most importantly, let us all continue to work for a positive future.
