As I explore the possibilities in my mind, it is clear that things can get much worse. It feels a lot like being on an airplane that has been hijacked by some demented people. Many people could die. The number of terrorists is pathetically small, perhaps a few thousand. The other six billion of us should be able to overwhelm them with relative ease. The only obstacle to this is us fighting amongst ourselves, accusing some cultures or faiths of being conspirators. I believe the terrorists are counting on this.

The current problem cannot be handled with a war that looks good on American TV. We have seen that show, and the reality is that most of those who died were innocent people and the bad guys are still around. We must contribute to making a better way.

These terrorists are still making kamikaze pilots and it appears they have a lot of money that could enable them to make much bigger bombs. Contrary to what reports suggest, Yasser Arafat was not dancing in the street, he too knows that if this thing gets out of hand it is possible that there won't be enough Palestinians or Jews left alive for their fight to matter much. We must join together to prune this crop of terrorists. We cannot eliminate terrorism, but we can overcome thegroup causing our current problem. We have to choose to trust and support each other because many of the people who are in a position to help us are of different cultures. We must understand that people of all faiths want themselves and their children to live. That is all that's required for us to be partners.

We can choose to embrace what makes life beautiful and live to fight the injustices here and around the world - hopefully with newfound vigor. But first we must take back our plane...

United we stand! Pass it on.

John

There is a play called "The Six degrees of Separation". The title’s notion is that you know someone who knows someone... who knows so and so. There really is an average minimum number of contacts between you and anyone else in the world – and it actually is around six. The same principle holds true for someone’s actions or whereabouts. There is very little we do without leaving a lot of crumbs in our path.

I believe that you or I don't need to suspect anyone because of their culture – in fact it may be far better if we don't. As the reality of what is at risk sets in (and it is) more and more people in positions to know facts will provide this needed information. It will come from diverse sources. What we can do as individuals is be friendly, kind, truthful and facilitate the flow of information. Help it happen.

If along the way you are kind to or give some reason for a terrorist to feel the good in society - well I don't see that as a problem ... perhaps some of these guys will be compelled to come across with the information that helps us overcome this problem. What's wrong with being a hero? It beats being dead.

Everyone on this planet is at risk from this threat. You don’t really think about it, but despite all its flaws we are really dependent upon society – very few of us would survive without it. The terrorist is a problem that belongs to all of us, we can each do our part to contribute to the solution. Just giving your support to someone is significant. We have already seen some incredible things. These factors are all combining to break apart the current terrorist threat and it can happen rather quickly. Watch, we are going to do something amazing...

If a billion people do a billion things ... what can be achieved? Or, it may be simpler to ask, What can’t be?

John

When I ponder what motivates a person like bin Laden. The only conclusion I can come to is that this guy wants to be the biggest bad ass in history. He would probably qualify if he gets to use a couple of the tools he thinks are at his disposal. One is incite violence between religious or cultural groups. Another is to instigate the use of nuclear weapons. All of the actions and correspondence he has done and will do will be toward these ends - think of it as a public relations campaign to generate a cry for retribution. He wants his actions to generate a violent reaction. We must proceed with well thought out and very deliberate actions.

I doubt bin Laden gives a damn about the Taliban or anyone else’s cause other than his own. It has nothing to do with religion or righteousness. One of the great ironies is that after a while no one is really going to care or remember who actually attacked the Trade Center - it will be bin Laden.

In spite of the difficulties, I’m feeling pretty optimistic these days. One of the reasons for this is that we are already living with other problems that present even greater danger and are harder to fix; nuclear proliferation, depletion of fossil fuels, and other technological and environmental dangers... If we solve the current problem, and we must, we may find ourselves believing that we can - and tackling some of these other difficulties and trying to right some of the wrongs that could cause people to justify aligning themselves with such an low quality person. It is going to require the effort of billions of people - you can be one of them. Chew on this... What do you have to loose?

So, what can we do? Well, this ‘war’ is being waged on two fronts: Afghanistan and towns and cities around the world. Our actions as individuals affect the outcome at both.

At home there is an incredible sense of community. There is so much support going around from so many; new people, old people, strangers... It is almost as if we instinctively sense that communicating with and reaching out to help one another are the keys to overcoming this adversary. We have to keep it turned on.

Afghanistan has been locked in war for decades. Most of the people have suffered terribly with many starving while never experiencing the human rights that we have come to expect. This situation has become even worse for most of the citizens since the Taliban gained power. I recently read a moving article about the plight of the Afghanis written by a reporter who grew up there. A short time later a woman in my office was passing out copies of the same article someone else had sent her. It gave me great hope to realize that there is a deep empathy outside of Afghanistan growing for these people. We must continue to take the message around the world - that we care about the people of Afghanistan.

The effort to catch terrorists, including bin Laden, and break their network is unstoppable. If the Taliban chooses to side with them, it is inevitable that they will be driven out of power. In this case, we must let the people of Afghanistan know that their most sure path to safety is to walk across the battle lines and work toward bringing down the Taliban. The only question is how soon? With each additional person convinced to take the side of liberating Afghanistan it happens faster and with less bloodshed. We can facilitate this outcome by educating each other and also making our governments know that we want this to happen without killing the common people of Afghanistan. As these messages flow around the world they also pour into Afghanistan. Lets make a flood!