(Originally written September 11, 2001, published here unedited)
Things you should do:
- Turn off your TV. The news is over and the spin has begun.
- Talk it out. Get in touch with your friends and family, by phone, e-mail, instant messenger, whatever. Let them know you’re OK, especially if you were in or around New York or Washington today. Whatever you’re feeling, talk it out. If you have kids, talk to them too. they’re bound to hear all sorts of gruesome stories tomorrow; make sure you talk to them first.
- If you have money, give money. All these charities need money for food, supplies, and relief efforts.
- If you have blood, give blood. Find your local Red Cross, or go to your local hospital. they’re currently swamped, but they’ll still need lots and lots of blood next week, and the week after.
- Pray. Take a moment of silence. Whatever it is that you do, do it today.
- Forgive those responsible for this tragedy. This is the most difficult thing you can do, and today you can only take a single step on the path to forgiveness, but it is a step that you must take. No one else can do it for you. This is especially important for people (like myself) who know people who were killed in the attacks. A mind paralyzed by hatred can never be free.
Things you should not do:
- Don’t be racist. Arab groups around the country are already getting death threats due to nothing more than the color of their skin. They don’t deserve this, nor does any other group.
- Don’t overreact. “President” Bush is already saying that the United States will “hunt down and punish” not only those responsible, but entire countries who associate with those responsible. This is thinly veiled threat against Afghanistan. White House spokesmen have explicitly not ruled out any option, up to and including nuclear weapons.
- Don’t let any one news source dominate your perspective. Seek out alternative voices, even if you disagree with them. The facts are not in dispute, but the real global war will be a war of opinion, of metaphor, of various sides trying to frame the debate to favor their own prejudices. I, a diehard Democrat bordering on Libertarian, read The Drudge Report all day today. I also read weblogs for more personal views and opinions (Dave Winer, John Robb, Robert Scoble, Cameron Barrett, and the ever-present MetaFilter). Think for yourself.
- Don’t sacrifice your own freedom. In the coming weeks and months, there will be increasing pressure to just do something, anything, to make America safer. There will be lots of privacy-invading, rights-restricting, in-the-name-of-anti-terrorism legislation proposed. Articles like this will pop up in every major magazine. Legislation that restricts our freedoms in the name of increased safety only serve the terrorists’ ends by eliminating the very things that make America great. “Those that give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” (Benjamin Franklin)
- Don’t ever forget the victims of today’s tragedy. They were innocent victims in a senseless war. Remember them however you can.
The most intelligent thing I heard on TV today (before I turned it off in disgust, once the spinning began) was this: “Things must start returning to normal, but to do that, we will have to redefine ‘normal’.” It is up to us how we define ‘normal’.
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