A letter from the editor

0 Comments | Insight on the News, Nov 12, 2002 | by Paul M. Rodriguez

Dear Readers,

Let's be frank about that murderous shooting spree by two thugs who killed 10 and critically wounded three more, including a 13-year old child, in the Washington area. To paraphrase President George W. Bush, we have to track down such terrorists and, if necessary, kill them--one at a time, one day at a time.

Yes, the world is complicated. It is so for each generation. Consider those who grew up in the days of horses and buggies and lived to see men walk on the moon. They witnessed miracles of medicine and technology and services unimaginable 100 years ago, let alone during the previous thousands of years of human history.

With every advance comes responsibility and accountability. If ever one needs proof consider the atomic era. Vigilance is still the price of liberty, and it comes down to ages-old criteria: good versus evil, people doing the right thing for no other reason than it is the right thing to do.

That's how it was with truck driver Ron Lantz, who says, "I did my job. I'm no hero." He did and, despite his denial, he is. He was a vigilant citizen who called 911 to report the whereabouts of two men who seemed to kill for sport. Who knows why they did it? For religion? For money? Or did they kill innocent people just for the thrill of evil?

Such base and remorseless inhumanity ultimately depends on great and small decisions by people--and the governments they control or seek to dominate. Don't be fooled by reports of governments or institutional religion doing something. It starts and ends with individuals and the will of vigilant and free people--one day at a time, one individual soul at a time.

This is the authority of America--the will of her united people exercised through individual liberties. Bush has invoked this spirit but found it resisted by the polyglot United Nations. Only here in America is it E pluribus unum. Terrorists may prey on us all, but only the morally weak will tolerate it.

J. Michael Waller's special report details one avenue of defense against al-Qaeda and its cluster of nut jobs and fat-cat walkers. Responsible parents are another line of protection, and Timothy W. Maier explores what this means. John Berlau reviews more-adult electronics but it's not a game folks. Consider stories such as Scott L. Wheeler's on Chinese espionage--a 911 call not just for help but for enforcement. We must be accountable and responsible to our children as surely as our forebears were when they built this magnificent country.

Until the next issue then, God bless. And be safe out there.