Tragedy Breeds Tragedy  .... by Adam (2001)

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Making its rounds through email inboxes recently is an essay written in 1973 by a Canadian about the positive contributions the US has made to the world. Yes, the American people have proved their generosity, kindness and ingenuity at many times throughout history.  However, there is another side to things.  There is a side that all too few people talk about.  A side that spawns terrorists, hatred and revenge. Make no mistake, what the terrorists did was a vicious assault on humanity.  The attack on the US is a horrible tragedy, the likes of which have never been seen on American soil. Unfortunately for the rest of the world, this kind of pain is a frequent occurrence.  For some perspective, take a look at these numbers:
 
3000
The probable number of people killed in the terrorist attacks on the US.
 
1,000,000
Number of Iraqi children, villagers, parents and others dead of starvation because of a US-led policy of sanctions against Saddam Hussein - a man originally armed and supported by the US.
 
20,000
Iraqi civilians killed in the Gulf war, most by supposed "surgical smart bombs". 
 
2,000,000
Vietnamese killed in the Vietnam War after the US invaded the country and carried out policies of village fire bombings, assassinations and military assault.
 
500,000
Number of Vietnamese children who suffer from birth defects caused by the use of chemical weapons by the American army in the Vietnam War.
 
17,500
Civilians killed by American-supplied weapons in the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon.
 
50
Percentage of the world's weapons supplied by the US.  Every day, thousands of American-supplied weapons are used in Africa, Asia and all over the world to kill, injure and terrorize.
 
1,000,000
Number of people killed in Indonesia by the US-backed Suharto regime, a man the American government called "our kind of guy."
 
30,000
Number of Nicaraguan civilians killed by soldiers paid, trained and armed by the American government.
 
7
The rank of the US among G7 countries in per-capita spending on foreign aid.
 
800,000
Rwandan Tutsis killed as the rest of the world stood by and watched, unwilling to risk Western lives even after gaining prior knowledge of the planned genocide.
 
Sadly, the numbers go on and on and on. (However none of that means much if you lost a daughter or a friend in NYC.) But for those incidents, where were the moments of silence, the flags at half staff, the wall-to-wall media coverage and the global outpourings of emotion over these tragedies?
 
Of course America is not to blame for what has happened in New York.  But maybe we should admit that there are real, historical reasons for children to grow up hating and fearing Americans.  So instead of just hunting down the terrorists, lets also attack the root causes of the terrorism.  Let's stop giving the world reasons to hate America. With every bomb dropped by the US, terrorist ranks grow.  It's time to reverse that.
 
The acts of last week were repulsive and tragic but they offer us a great opportunity.  An opportunity to radically reshape how we deal with the world.  Let's use this as a wake up call.  Let's pressure our governments to change.  Of course the US needs to respond to what has happened.  They need to punish those who committed these heinous acts.  But they don't need to up the ante with another round of bloodshed.  I can feel it in the air - thousands in the Middle East are scheduled to die as retribution for the crimes of these terrorists.  But so many families have already been destroyed by American bombs and guns.  Let's not give them more reason to turn to terrorism.
 
Terrifying, awesome, horrible, unspeakable, despicable, heartbreaking, unforgivable - we have heard all of these words recently.  And they all aptly describe the tragedy of what just took place on American soil.  But unfortunately they are words that are heard all to often in other parts of the world - and are ignored by those in the West. Whether you are American,Canadian, Indonesian, whatever - let's seize this moment. Let's use the recent events to pressure our governments to radically reshape how we do things in this world.  Let's educate others about the past and give them the policy tools to change the future.  Let's stop ALL violence and put people ahead of money, selfishness and simplistic political notions.
 
In the words of Michael Moore: "We fund a lot of oppressive regimes that have killed a lot of innocent people, and we never let the human suffering THAT causes to interrupt our day one single bit. We have orphaned so many children, tens of thousands around the world, with our taxpayer-funded terrorism (in Chile, in Vietnam, in Gaza, in Salvador) that I suppose we shouldn't be too surprised when those orphans grow up and are a little whacked in the head from the horror we have helped cause. Let's mourn, let's grieve, and when it's appropriate let's examine our contribution to the unsafe world we live in. It doesn't have to be like this."