THE GOLDEN RULE!

  While most Americans demand to retaliate against those who conspired to carry out the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, some look at the broader view of any terrorist act. To be certain, all agree that the guilty parties should be brought to justice!
   But to prevent terrorist acts in the future, we must treat this problem in the same way we do other problems. First we must get a handle on the "why?" of the terrorism!
   Anyone who merely responds to a wrongful act and avoids considering the events which caused the perpetrators to take the steps they did, is bound to have repeats of the problem. We look at welfarism, drug addiction, wife beating, alcoholism, career criminals and other problems with the attitude of determining why those individuals act as they do. What is their problem, background or complaint?
   In the case of the terrorists who killed so many individuals by hi-jacking planes and committing suicide as they crashed them into those buildings, we cannot merely say it was their "religious training" or that they just "hate Americans."
Osama bin Ladin, and other Islamics who don't agree with his methods, have stated repeatedly that the presence of a U.S. military base on their holiest of soils (Mecca) is an affront to Islam. They object strenuously to female military personnel in Saudi Arabia.
   Would Americans (Christians and Jews) tolerate the presence of a foreign government's military forces setting up a base in the state of Texas, or Arizona or California? What would the reaction of American citizens be if such a base were established in Kansas and the women all walked around topless because that is what they do in their home country?
There is no justification for what happened on September 11th. But there are two hard rules which we should keep in mind anytime we involve ourselves in what others consider a violation of their rights:
   "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction - Newton's Law."
   "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you - The Golden Rule."
   Newton's law was based on science, but any study of history or human nature will convince anyone that it is true of societies.
   The Golden Rule is the basis of almost every major and minor religion or theology of behavior. The American Indian tribes had such phrases as "Do not condemn a man until you have walked in his moccasins." The words used are different, but the meaning is the same: "Do not do that to another which you would not want done to you."
   Applying the Golden Rule to our foreign policy could help us to avoid conflicts and terrorism in the future. It is easy to distort that rule by saying "Do to them what they have done to you!" or "Do it to them before they do it to you!" but those distorted attitudes only result in more of the same!
   Osama bin Laden has been reported to have purchased three nuclear suitcase bombs from former KGB agents - paying $30 Million and 7 tons of hashish for them (1999). Sixteen such devices are missing from the former Soviet Union's arsenal. The FBI has searched for those devices in Brainerd, Minnesota, where they are reportedly stashed. That area's resorts host numerous international conferences.
   Some Americans say we should "nuke" Afghanistan! Really? Are they ready to have these suitcase bombs dropped over the side of Boulder Dam? True, a suitcase bomb would not destroy the dam, but it would weaken it and the radiation would contaminate the waters of Lake Mead (and down stream) and the entire area around the dam to make it virtually impossible to utilize or maintain the facility for years to come. Are we ready to give up all that electrical power?
   The same would be true if such a "dirty bomb" was detonated at one of the Tennessee Valley projects (TVA). What would happen to Chicago if such contamination resulted from exploding such a device in Lake Michigan?
   This world involves us all. Everyone's beliefs must be given due consideration. If we agree with them, that is wonderful. But if, as is usually the case, we disagree, we must tolerate each other to insure our liberty!