Land of the Free? Home of the Brave?

NEW YORK, Oct. 14 – More than a month after the attacks the battle continues. As U.S. bombs rained down on Taliban military targets, Anthrax arrived in the mail. NBC News and The New York Times are among the latest targets. As police closed down sections of Times Square and doctors examined NBC employees for traces of infection, debate grows over how best to boost our security. Beyond biological assault, human bombs and nuclear attack remain among the weapons aimed against us. Unlike previous conflicts, this battlefield includes the mall down the street and the coffee shop at the corner. In that way, we are all in the army now. The question then is how we choose to fight? Will we win awards for valor and bravery or become cowards, or even war criminals? More than just defend what we own and whom we love, will we fight for what we believe? Military soldiers give their life for their country. As a civilian soldier, are you ready to die for your liberty? Since the attacks, we hear we are not safe. But how safe do we want to be? Sitting in a large and crowded restaurant this week it was easy to see that none of us are safe. A human bomb could walk in at any moment and easily blow us all to bits in the most ghastly way, littering the floor with hundreds of dead, leaving the injured ripped apart by old nails and glass shards. We could secure that restaurant. We could require patrons to pass through metal detectors, show ID, or maybe even subject themselves to searches before sitting down for a lasagna or a latte. Civilian soldiers who wanted to eat in comparative safety could gather at any restaurant adopting equivalent measures. Insurance companies protecting their bottom lines might deny coverage to restaurants failing to adopt new safety restrictions. In some cases we might even excuse overly zealous restaurant security guards who denied access to an Arab, or used physical force against an Arab enraged by his denied access. Where will you eat? What will you excuse? Where will you take your mother when she visits? Where will you forbid you children from visiting? Will you sit at the safe lunch table, or at the one out in the open where a nail bomber or anthrax duster can walk in and finish you off? We can improve the safety of many gathering locations. We can screen all mail, require security checks at the entrance of Grande Central Station, at movie complexes, at shopping malls, and anywhere else large groups gather. We can do that and more. We will be safer. But how safe do we want to be? Land of the free. Home of the brave. Easy words in easy times, but are they words to live by when we really need them? One by one, we’ll decide that as this battle unfolds, day by day. We are all in the army now. The question then is how we choose to fight? Will we win awards for valor and bravery or become cowards, or even war criminals? Soldiers give their life for their country. Are you ready to die for your liberty?

Yours Truly, Xandor Copy Boy In-Chief Copyright © 2001