From Thomas A DOBBINS
@. . . . . Date:
From: "Tom & Karen Dobbins"
<kmdobbins@coshocton.com>
To: <vzv03210@nifty.com>
Subject: Thank you
Dear Masatsugu:
Your
thoughtful expressions of sympathy in this dark hour are much appreciated. Rest
assured, the American people will recover from these crimes and wreak terrible
retribution on the perpetrators.
Given the sad
and bloody history of our fathers' generation, your message evoked very
poignant feelings. I take great comfort that the friendship between the
American and Japanese peoples is so profound and
sincere. May it always be so!
With much gratitude,
@ . . . . . . . Date: Thu,
From: "Tom & Karen Dobbins"
<kmdobbins@coshocton.com>
To: "Masatsugu MINAMI"
<VZV03210@nifty.com>
Subject: News from
Dear Masatsugu:
The
profound sense of shock over the terrible events on Tuesday
have subsided to the point that I can convey to you my thoughts and not
just my visceral emotions. Americans have been subjected to a trauma far
greater the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963. The date
There is a sudden realization that we are
dealing with an enemy like no other we have ever faced, and that we are more
vulnerable than we have ever been before. One can only grudgingly admire the
courage of men willing to kill themselves, even if their cause is utterly
without merit. This generation of
Americans has all but forgotten Captain Colin Kelly, lionized as a hero for
deliberately crashing his stricken bomber into a Japanese destroyer during the
early days of the Second World War. But even the kamikaze pilots who dove their planes into American warships are at best a poor
comparison. After all, these were men who sacrificed themselves in order to
kill fellow warriors and to save their nation from defeat, not to slaughter
innocent civilians.
The mass murderers who flew planes into the
towers
Americans are a rather self-restrained people.
In many countries the streets would long ago have filled with mobs screaming
for vengeance. But make no mistake, there is a palpable rage here, made all the
more dangerous since our fury cannot be immediately vented. Sane, contemplative
people are calling for bloody collective punishment, an impulse that is
difficult to suppress when our televisions show scenes of gleeful celebrations
in Lebanese and Palestinian towns.
The restrained talk of "seeking
justice" for those who financed, trained, and directed these men seems as
ridiculous as the trials of animals that were conducted in the Middle Ages. How can one administer justice by bringing to
trial and imprisoning or executing deranged fanatics whose highest aspiration
is matyrdom? It is often said that the ultimate
tragedy of war is that one comes to resemble one's enemy. A chilling but
compelling logic begins to emerge...
We Americans are fond of drawing analogies
between the
As
I write these words, television is announcing that teams of terrorists have
just been arrested at two
In closing,
we are deeply grateful for
Tom DOBBINS (OH,