Lost opportunity

Christian Century, Jan 27, 2004

LOST OPPORTUNITY: Here's what President Bush should have said to the nation after 9/11, says William Sloane Coffin, pastor emeritus of Riverside Church in New York City: "We will respond, but not in kind. We will not seek to avenge the death of innocent Americans by the death of innocent victims elsewhere, lest we become what we abhor.

We refuse to ratchet up the cycle of violence that brings only ever more death, destruction and deprivation. What we will do is build coalitions with other nations. We will share intelligence, freeze assets and engage in forceful extraditions of terrorists if internationally sanctioned. I promise to do all in my power to see justice done, but by the force of law only, never by the law of force." Coffin adds that it could have been a teachable moment to help Americans deepen the quality of their suffering by identifying with others around the world who suffer, and to help them abandon the American illusion of invincibility (Nation, January 12/19).