Ready for action

Jamie Fletcher, a seventh-grader at Evergreen Junrior High, and Tamara Power-Drutis, a 10th-grader at Cheney High School, are the winners of this year's STAR Essay Contest. The contest, sponsored by Rep. George Nethercutt, encourages young people to participate in their community. This year, teens were asked to write about additional actions the government or individuals should take to enhance freedom and security after the terrorist attacks. The winners will be flown to Washington, D.C., where they will present their ideas to elected officials.

It's hard to feel safe anymore. Many Americans no longer feel secure even in familiar surroundings or while participating in activities they once took for granted. This fear goes deeper than reduced enthusiasm for air travel and visits to big cities. The current demand for homes with fortress-like enclosures, known as panic rooms, is only one symptom of the disease. We also see more security officers at transportation centers, public gatherings and schools. If that isn't enough to make us anxious, television, newspaper and magazine headlines supply a steady stream of new dangers and threats for our consideration. In a world so full of fear, inhabitants naturally look for a way to relieve the growing apprehension about these dreaded terrors. So we begin to search for someone or something to blame.

Problems don't simply materialize. They are created; and political conflicts often stem from deep roots that go back many generations. Solutions must be created, too, and serious problems, such as terrorism, require more than a quick fix. Some solutions may take several generations of effort before success can be hoped for. No problem is ever entirely solved when there is a "winner" and a "loser." Both must win. And although it is easier to place the burden of blame on someone else, it is not the best way to solve a problem. When we take a position that puts ourselves in the right and casts the "other" as a villain, we simply create a new problem. The "other" is likely to take the opposite position, leaving no room for negotiation. Blaming other countries or cultures for the evils occurring in our own is not constructive; as we can see by observing fatal conflicts in other countries such as Israel and Palestine. Fighting escalates as accusations between factions increase, and every act of retaliation makes it harder to identify the "right" position. Each death robs the community of a bit of its future and pushes the possibility of compromise further away. Each generation brought up in fear and hatred will have a longer road back to peace. My hopes for America are higher than this.

The goal of the Anti-Terrorism Act is ultimately peace, but how can that goal be reached through the tools of war? When confronted with terrorism in the heart of our country, we declared war against terrorism and took up arms against Afghanistan, a country with very few resources. An entire country was bombed, when it was not the people of Afghanistan we should have blamed. In fact, there are many countries that shelter terrorists and some that support terrorist actions even if they do not openly condone them.

How can we find the people responsible without harming those who are not? Technology offers some ideas. Biometric technologies have been produced to recognize faces, retinas, voices and other human characteristics, and these may help if a terrorist is known. However, this process may also undermine the privacy and civil liberties that, by law, Americans possess and value. Political solutions also are being tried. Treaties have been formed with other countries to ensure maintained peace only to find that no matter how secure those treaties seem to be, terrorism will persevere and grow. Petitions have been written and coalitions formed, while alliances are sought throughout the world. Economic solutions are another tool applied to this problem. Funding political factions that oppose the organizations we fear often has backfired, as with Afghanistan and earlier with Saddam Hussein. Closer to home, Americans are encouraged to spend more money to keep our economy strong, despite increased concern over debt loads. A whistle blower program called "Reward for Justice" is being tried, but will likely prove to be yet another disappointment. None of these solutions seems to add much safety to our lives or lessen the sorrow we feel for the losses our country has sustained in recent months. It is natural to want to strike back when so many innocent lives were taken on Sept. 11. But if we continue to bomb the countries we blame for that terrorism, we will only hurt those who are powerless against it. Essentially, it would be fighting terrorism with terrorism. This can only make it easier for others to hate our country and its citizens, and this hatred makes it more likely that terrorism will increase.

I suggest, as an action to prevent further terrorism, we look for common ground with those we see as enemies. Although it will take a long time to forge a lasting peace, it will never be reached through continued fighting and destruction. A few countries committed to negotiating in a principled way will not ensure safety from the remaining countries. Nevertheless, it is a beginning, and building a reputation for true compromise will make us stronger and better members of the world community. It is easy to be seen as the villain when we stake out a position and spend all of our energy defending it. What if the United States stopped taking sides and began to form a global culture? Through principled negotiation, we can look for common goals and mutual benefits rather than how to win the most. In this way, the citizens of the world can work together honestly and openly to reach a solution that may not be perfect for anyone but that offers something to each group. This process demands a great deal of trust - trust in our own country as well as trust in others. We must listen to everyone, even if they are smaller and weaker than we are. Otherwise, we risk more terrorism from desperate people who feel they have nothing to lose.

John F. Kennedy once said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." Not only do I support this statement, I would add, "Ask not what your world can do for you, but what you can do for your world!" No matter what the cost, the wealthier countries should help the less fortunate to meet their most basic needs: shelter, food, a job and health care. These are all things that Americans often take for granted but that people in many other countries only dream about. Providing for the basic needs of the children of the world is our best investment in the future, and helping those in need is the right thing to do.

Granted, there are people in need right in front of our eyes. On the streets of Spokane, some go unseen by the majority of people passing by. It is only logical to ask how we can be expected to take care of people in other countries when we can't even provide care for our own. We must do both: take care of our own citizens and share with others at the same time. If not, we will always be seen as gluttons by the rest of the world. Gluttons are the most likely targets of terrorist actions.

For this reason, the young people of Washington state, the United States and the world should be trying harder than anyone else to solve this issue. It is our world and our future that is being built by these actions; therefore, it is also our responsibility to make that future bright. To do this we must learn more about how these conflicts began and what has been tried in the past. We also must listen to the ideas of people we don't always agree with and find places where we can work together for mutual gain. We must be creative, generous and compassionate to those who are unlike us as well as those who are similar. We must try to see the other points of view if we want a true and lasting peace.

America has the potential to do so much good and to make so many dreams come true, but it takes a lot of work to make even small dreams come true for those who don't have the means to help themselves. Most people of the world have one shared goal: peace. One country alone can have an impact, no matter how small. But united as a whole, that impact can be much greater. If we concentrate on common interests, peace can be reached. If conflicts arise between countries, we should, instead of asking who is to blame, ask what prompted this occurrence, and how we can stop it from happening again.

There is no excuse for terrorist actions. Terrorism inflicts unjustifiable pain on people who have done nothing to deserve it. But there is also no excuse for creating war instead of attempting peace as a reaction to that pain. America has been wounded. Instead of wounding back, let us heal the wound at the root of the problem. Let us fight war with the tools of peace. Let us make this world a better place, for everyone.

Copyright 2002 Cowles Publishing Company
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.