[Rhonda]

Maurice Kelly wrote:

> I don't believe that the US had it coming. In fact, while the US was
> the
> point of attack, I believe the target was the world itself. The US is
> such
> a dominant culture, that it is the logical figurehead to strike at.

Bingo.  I think you hit the nail right on the head there, Maurice.  I
remember right after the attacks happened, there was a lot of discussion
in my family about that it was an attack not (necessarily) on the U.S.
itself, but on the _way of life_ of the entire free world, of democracy
and individual rights.  Obviously, the U.S. is the most obvious
worldwide symbol of this, and the Americans do nearly everything on a
grand scale....taking down the two enormous towers which symbolize the
huge financial (and other) freedoms of the Western world was the most
emphatic statement these nutcases could make.  

Those 3,000-plus people in the towers, those in Washington, and the
civilians on the four planes were just unfortunately in the wrong place
at the wrong time; obviously they did nothing to directly "provoke" the
attack.   Citizens of many other countries were also killed in the
attacks - it is a multinational mourning, not just the Americans.  But
because the US is such a huge cultural icon and worldwide figure,
everyone else pretty much gets overshadowed.  

Maybe I'm wrong, (and I'm sure I'll hear about it if I am) I think maybe
it's just been hard for people to get over because it was such a VISUAL
event that's been burned into our minds and hearts - I don't think
anybody will EVER be able to get those images of the jets hitting the
buildings out of their heads for the rest of their lives.  I know I
won't.  We've been shown it over and over and over again from all
different angles, and I still get that sick, cold, shocked, disbelieving
feeling in the pit of my stomach when I see that second jet, growing
huge, tilting slightly sideways and then just vanishing into the second
tower, the first tower already billowing smoke.  The melee that
followed, seeing REAL people jumping from the buildings, from one
certain death to another.  

This is not to say that this atrocity was any worse than any of those
that have occurred in Ireland - or any other nation - there are no
"degrees" of atrocity, in my book; they're all equally horrible.  You
are correct - one life, or thousands lost to such mindless violence, all
are tragic.  It's shameful that the atrocities that occur in other
countries, possibly occur on such a regular basis that the rest of the
world becomes numb to it and ceases to pay attention, just because there
were fewer numbers of casualties at a time.

/Rhonda