Smiles, kind words won’t make problem go away

Published 9:00 pm Friday, September 28, 2001

I’m going to have to take exception to Tami Monkman’s recent letter titled “We are still free to shun violence.” Ms. Monkman says that we must forgive in order to be free. When a bully pushes you down in the playground, you can forgive him. When he cuts off your limbs, you can forgive (I wouldn’t, but people can). When he threatens to finish off you, your family, your friends, your neighbors and your nation’s entire way of life, the time for forgiveness is over.

This person doesn’t want your forgiveness, in fact he laughs at you for offering it. He looks at it as a sign of weakness, and weakness is what he uses to his advantage. In case you don’t get it, it isn’t about revenge or punishment. It is about our survival as a nation; no, let me correct myself, it is about the survival of the free world as we know it. Terrorism is not something that should be forgiven. It is something that needs to be eradicated from the face of the earth altogether, and we are not going to accomplish that with a smile and a few kind words. In case anyone didn’t notice, they play by a different set of rules.

Arlington