Letters to the Editor

September attack brings United States to crossroads

The terrorist attacks against America on Sept. 11, 2001, have provided the impetus for more sweeping and tumultuous changes throughout American society. Some of these changes, such as a renewed emphasis on homeland security against hijacked airplanes and bio-terrorism, represent a tragic escalation of violence that continues to challenge the country's conventional accounting of itself. In my opinion, the recent terrorist attacks did not mark the end of the age of innocence or the belief in American invulnerability. From a historical perspective, that innocence and apparent invulnerability were shattered on Nov. 22, 1963, by President Kennedy's assassination. An event that shook the nation and the world, Kennedy's assassination in Dallas and the lingering questions that followed provided the impetus for a pernicious cynicism towards America's social and political institutions. The subsequent war in Vietnam, the racial unrest that occurred in America's urban centers, as well as the criminal acts of Watergate, all served to deepen the cynicism and disillusionment that many Americans harbored towards their government. The disillusionment and despair of the 1960s and early 1970s once again plagued the nation during the decade of the 1990s. The Oklahoma City bombing in April 1995 and Clinton's impeachment three years later served to heighten many Americans' concerns about their nation's political and social institutions.

Now, the vicious attack on America has brought us as a nation and a people to a critical crossroad. It is paramount that we unite as a people to combat terrorism as well as the cynicism that has eaten away at the fabric of our society. In order to survive as a civilization, we will have to restore our faith in our political and social institutions, provide adequate health care for all Americans and create an educational system that enables our children, who are our future, to learn and flourish. I am convinced that our civilization really needs strong, smart and courageous people who are willing to step forward to do whatever it takes to make our country a stronger and better place. All of that can be accomplished by enlightened political and moral leadership, congressional bipartisanship and the self-discipline and sacrifice of the American people. Above all, it can be achieved by developing a strong sense of our rich, yet turbulent history, which will lead to the sober realization that the age of innocence ended long ago. David Huff Arlington, Va.