Monday, July 29, 2013

A Needle in a Needlestack | Slog:

The planes did hit the towers. It wasn't the military, the NSA, the president, the congress, the air marshals that stopped the attack. It was a random collection of ordinary Americans, the passengers on United 93, who reacted properly, and brought the attack to an end—at the cost of their lives. The bombs did go off at the marathon, but it wasn't the comically militarized police in Boston who brought the post-Marathon bombing terror to an end. (To the contrary, the ridiculous shutdown of a major US city, and the inept chase after two teenagers added to the terror.) No, it was again a random collection of Americans, volunteers, paramedics, doctors who ran towards the blast, at risk of their own life and limb, to save others, who ended the terror.

I'll take the American attitude, and put my faith in my fellow citizens to deal with the inevitable (the next terror attack, the next earthquake).