In the past two weeks two unthinkable things
happened in our country. I don't think I have to tell you what the first one is. The second one is positive, however, and it has occurred as part of a reaction to the first. Shortly after delivering his speech before Congress this past Thursday evening, President George W. Bush, the leader of the Republican Party, embraced Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, the leader of the Democratic Party. Only two weeks ago these men were bitter opponents, some would even say enemies. Battles were being fought and fought hard over issues like the social security surplus. In the wake of the unspeakable strikes on our country and its civilians our leaders have finally seen the light. They have realized something that we need to realize ourselves. You can't spell America with the letters in the word Democrat, nor can you with the letters in Republican. Only if you combine the letters in both words can you spell America, something we should not forget as we look to the tough times ahead.
As we all wait anxiously for President Bush to take some form of action against the evil men behind these despicable acts or the militant groups protecting them, we cannot let our country's unity crumble. It is clear that our principal enemy resides in the country of Afghanistan in the form of a band of well-funded Islamic terrorists known as Al-Qaeda. However, no distinction can or should be made between the terrorists themselves and the Taliban, the militant Islamic group which controls over 90 percent of Afghanistan, and I shall make no such distinction here. It appears that we will need to deal directly with the Taliban, a group that despises freedoms of religion, expression and information as well as gender equality. All of these freedoms, hated by the Taliban, are embraced and celebrated here in America and we prosper because of it. They hate us for everything we love about ourselves, which makes it hard for us to understand their motives. They hate us for occupying Saudi Arabia during Desert Storm, for supporting Israel, for simply practicing capitalism. We should not for one second consider the merits of this hatred towards us. The notion that in committing these offenses we have been inviting an attack of this kind, that somehow this attack is justified, is the equivalent of treason in this time of undeclared war.
In addition, the idea proposed by television evangelist Jerry Falwell that God allowed this to happen because of our tolerance of civil liberties and abortion rights groups is, as a priest in my own home parish put it, blasphemy. The truth is that the terrorists and those who harbor them are not devoutly religious as they claim, because their actions directly contradict and even spit in the face of the peaceful teachings of Islam. Perhaps they have convinced themselves that their God loves them for what they do, but any rational thinker will realize that they are sorely mistaken. Even if they are fortunate enough to be forgiven by God for their atrocities, it is unlikely that the United States will supply any such comfort. In the words of Senator John McCain to the terrorists, "God may have mercy on you, but we will not."
Many in this country and even on this campus are bound to protest any military activities we might undertake over the coming weeks and months. They will likely see any military action as an irrational and unnecessary retaliation against the terrorists and the states that are hiding them, and they will say that we are becoming just as bad as the terrorists who took down our buildings and killed our people. It is impossible to overstate how wrong and dangerous this line of thinking is. The terrorists are counting on exactly this sort of divided response to cripple our efforts to find them and terminate their activities. Instead we should be hanging American flags in our dorm rooms, spending all the money we can to boost the economy and fighting publicly for the continued protection of the rights of all our citizens, especially those of Arabic and Islamic descent. Every act of racism, ignorance and hatred exhibited towards Muslims in America brings us closer to the inhuman barbarism that the terrorists embrace.
As it has done in the past, our military will make every sacrifice to ensure that the innocent citizens of Afghanistan and other potential countries are not killed during any attacks we might make, and rightly so. The difficulty in fighting this war will come as a result of the small size of our enemies relative to the countries and societies they inhabit. Not only should we expect a long and drawn-out conflict, we should support one. It is the only way to better ensure that the horrible tragedies of September 11th are not repeated. This is not Vietnam, and we should not fear the extremely remote possibility of a draft. Indeed, unlike Vietnam, there can be no conscientious objectors to this war. So many of us have either been affected ourselves by these acts or know other who have been. Well over six thousand Americans, about 65 of which lived in my own hometown of Long Island, are either dead or still missing with remote possibilities of having survived.
The fundamental difference between the terrorists and us is a simple one. They are willing to die so that others may die, and we are willing to die so that others may live. The people who started this game started it without any rules, and they would wish for us to continue to play it the way they do. For us, this would have meant turning Afghanistan and other nations harboring terrorists into lifeless radioactive wastelands, in essence returning their best shot with ours. But we are a great nation, one that does not retaliate against innocents without regard for life or consequence. Let us unite under our flag, under our love of freedom, and support our President in his demand for justice from those who have caused our nation so much pain. We are not terrorists. We are not animals. We are not cowards. We are Americans.
