VaughnT
Member
The following is from an email I just rec'd from my brother in Augusta, GA. His letter, apparently, is or will soon be published in the Augusta Chronicle and I thought it was exceptionally well-written and worthy of your commentary.
Considering that my brother isn't a shooter or combat trainee, I was surprised to see something like this come from him.
Dear Mr. Terpack,
Thank you for your letter. Please confirm your authorship of this letter wither by returning this e-mail or calling The Augusta Chronicle's editorial department at 823-3430. Also please include a daytime phone number where we can reach you, in case we have further questions.
Also, The Chronicle prides itself on exclusivity. Have you sent this letter to any other publications?
Again, thanks for writing, and we hope to hear from you soon.
Joe Hotchkiss, Editorial Coordinator
The Augusta Chronicle
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The Folly of Pacifism by John A. Terpack II
Pacifism is a lovely ideal, but it is the cause of more grief than joy in the real world. More people than can be imagined have been made to suffer unduly because they were unprepared to meet aggression with aggression. In fact, pacifism is the reason 3,000 people died that fateful September morning. Although the hijackers were outnumbered by ten to one or better, passengers were told to go along with their demands, to be pacifists. Only those passengers on flight 93 realized there was a problem and acted. While they still died, how many lives were saved because their plane did not reach its target? Had the passengers on the other three planes acted with equal courage we would not have gone to war in Afghanistan or Iraq. The towers would still grace the Manhattan skyline. Numerous families would still have their loved ones. Because the passengers on those three planes chose to meet violence with submission we not only lost them and the souls in those buildings, we also lost hundreds in wars that would not have been fought.
How ironic is it that the same beliefs which cause people to protest the "senseless" violence of war allowed the events to transpire which triggered the war? What would happen if terrorists were to attack a peace rally? Would the anti-war crowd submit, as they wish our country to do? Or would they take a stand and defend themselves against a known enemy who means to harm them, as our country has done? Those who claim violence is never the answer have never faced imminent danger. If a psychopath breaks into your home and begins sodomizing your twelve-year-old daughter, you do not try to reason with him. I actually feel sorry for any man who says he has nothing he would fight to protect.
It is a sad truth, but it is truth nonetheless, that violence is sometimes the only answer. Islamic terrorists do not care what your worldview is. They do not care who you voted for or whether you support the war. There were people of all religions and heritages in those towers when the planes struck. Wealthy died alongside poor, black next to white, pacifist next to hawk. They all died not because of their ideals, but because of their country of residence. It is the folly of pacifism to think we can avoid future bloodshed by turning the other cheek. We turned the other cheek when they bombed the towers the first time, when they blew up our embassies in Africa, when they bombed the USS Cole, and even when they threw a crippled old man off the side of a cruise ship. We're out of cheeks to turn, it's time to fight back.
John A. Terpack II
Augusta, GA
Considering that my brother isn't a shooter or combat trainee, I was surprised to see something like this come from him.
Dear Mr. Terpack,
Thank you for your letter. Please confirm your authorship of this letter wither by returning this e-mail or calling The Augusta Chronicle's editorial department at 823-3430. Also please include a daytime phone number where we can reach you, in case we have further questions.
Also, The Chronicle prides itself on exclusivity. Have you sent this letter to any other publications?
Again, thanks for writing, and we hope to hear from you soon.
Joe Hotchkiss, Editorial Coordinator
The Augusta Chronicle
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Folly of Pacifism by John A. Terpack II
Pacifism is a lovely ideal, but it is the cause of more grief than joy in the real world. More people than can be imagined have been made to suffer unduly because they were unprepared to meet aggression with aggression. In fact, pacifism is the reason 3,000 people died that fateful September morning. Although the hijackers were outnumbered by ten to one or better, passengers were told to go along with their demands, to be pacifists. Only those passengers on flight 93 realized there was a problem and acted. While they still died, how many lives were saved because their plane did not reach its target? Had the passengers on the other three planes acted with equal courage we would not have gone to war in Afghanistan or Iraq. The towers would still grace the Manhattan skyline. Numerous families would still have their loved ones. Because the passengers on those three planes chose to meet violence with submission we not only lost them and the souls in those buildings, we also lost hundreds in wars that would not have been fought.
How ironic is it that the same beliefs which cause people to protest the "senseless" violence of war allowed the events to transpire which triggered the war? What would happen if terrorists were to attack a peace rally? Would the anti-war crowd submit, as they wish our country to do? Or would they take a stand and defend themselves against a known enemy who means to harm them, as our country has done? Those who claim violence is never the answer have never faced imminent danger. If a psychopath breaks into your home and begins sodomizing your twelve-year-old daughter, you do not try to reason with him. I actually feel sorry for any man who says he has nothing he would fight to protect.
It is a sad truth, but it is truth nonetheless, that violence is sometimes the only answer. Islamic terrorists do not care what your worldview is. They do not care who you voted for or whether you support the war. There were people of all religions and heritages in those towers when the planes struck. Wealthy died alongside poor, black next to white, pacifist next to hawk. They all died not because of their ideals, but because of their country of residence. It is the folly of pacifism to think we can avoid future bloodshed by turning the other cheek. We turned the other cheek when they bombed the towers the first time, when they blew up our embassies in Africa, when they bombed the USS Cole, and even when they threw a crippled old man off the side of a cruise ship. We're out of cheeks to turn, it's time to fight back.
John A. Terpack II
Augusta, GA
