The tragic events of September 11th 2001
did not simply affect a nation, they united
our world. Not a single continent escaped
the devastation. It is a sad fact that peace
always comes with a price. The war against
terrorism, in my opinion, is a necessary one.
But, we must go beyond just flushing out the
guilty parties of September 11th, we must
define exactly what terrorism is. We must
learn to recognize the behaviours that create
the hatred that perpetuates such acts. And
we must strive to modify our own actions
so that we all become part of the solution,
instead of remaining a part of the problem.
We need to remember that it is not enough to
merely tolerate a person's differing political,
religious or cultural views, we must celebrate
our differences. And we must stop using
biblical connotations to describe the terrorist
acts of September 11th, ie, "the evil doers" or
"we will win because God is behind us". This
is not a war against religion, this is a war
against the hatred that perpetuates terrorism.

Robyn Elizabeth Berry
November 12 2001