Hi all; Indian writer praises US calm:
Coming home to a wounded America
CHIDANAND RAJGHATTA, The Times of India, September 19, 2001
WASHINGTON: I have always marvelled at the quality of freedom in America. Its frank and open people, their lively and engaging discourse, the abundance of opinion, and the acceptance of dissent.
Tuesday afternoon, fearful at coming back after a week that shook the world, I am relieved and happy to report -- at first glance – that I have returned to the same America. An America that is wounded, but one that is still fighting to retain its core values.
...
As we swung into my residential suburb of Takoma Park -- a bastion of liberal-left thinking that reads Noam Chomsky, votes for Ralph Nader, and thinks Fidel Castro is a hero – I could see some houses flying American flags. There was a time I thought I would see man colonise Jupiter before this happened.
Talking heads on television were talking of nothing else. In my Yahoo mailbox, there were a flood of e-mails about prayer meetings, candle-light vigils, and a continuing spate of attacks on foreigners that belied my experience an hour into America.
At the top of my pack of snail mail was a cheque from the United States Treasury for $ 300. It was a tax refund from Uncle Sam that George Bush had promised. I used to have reservations ponying up tax dollars for all those wild-eyed ideas about missile defense and star wars. But if they are going to bomb the bejesus out of bigotry, I think I will have no problem refunding the refund.
timesofindia.com
-- Carl |
