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Article: World steeped in fear, but Jesus says, `Be not afraid' (Column).(Column)
- Article from:
- National Catholic Reporter
- Article date:
- November 2, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 National Catholic Reporter. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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As a nation we have learned lessons about freedom, and hubris, and the art of perpetual motion. Now we are learning the varieties of terror.
Our education began with hijackers who slowed and took aim, then flew straight into their own deaths. We swiftly denounced their attack as cowardly -- and, as an act of war, it was. But the individuals who executed those meticulous plans were either so driven by hate that fear no longer mattered, or so convinced of eternal reward that it weighed nothing. The realization terrified us. Because when the enemy is fearless, logic explodes, and our scenarios must include the unthinkable.
And so we watched and listened ...