I have mostly spent the last 24 hours in silence, prayer, meditation, inner reflection. I have read all 5 of these threads and heard some good thoughts here from many of my friends.

I regard any violent act, whether committed by a government, a hidden group, or an individual...as TERRORISM. If you deliberately terrorize people, you are committing terrorism.

I don't support it. Nor do I support revengeful acts of counter-terrorism against anyone, and they will not help.

Addressing the original huge inequities and problems in the world that have led to existing conflicts would help, but it would require much more patience, generosity of spirit, and courage, and wisdom than is required to drop bombs on people or fly airplanes into buildings.

My thoughts are with the victims of terrorism and their loved ones...in New York, in Washington, in Lebanon, in Israel, in the West Bank, in Gaza, in the Balkans, in any place where people have forgotten that the other person is made of the same essential stuff as themselves...and with essentially the same original hopes and dreams. Those hopes and dreams have been blighted and twisted by our inequities and our blindness, our inability to see the face of God in each other person whom we meet, our inability to share the bounties of the Earth in an equal fashion, our forgetfullness of our human responsiblity to behave as equals with mercy toward all.

I am very sorry that these things have happened. I hope for something better.

- LH