Fighting terrorism with our checkbooks
The nation sat riveted to the television on Sept. 11 as news of terrorist attacks reached homes, offices and schools nationwide. Rage, sadness, fear and helplessness ensued. What could we do? Desperately call friends and family members in New York and D.C.? Sit and watch the television coverage? Send a check to the Red Cross?
I say, go shopping. It's obvious that the terrorists were intent on disrupting the biggest, most powerful economy on Earth.
Perhaps the terrorists thought they could strike a fatal blow to an economy already injured by the dot-com crash, the layoffs, the so-called "downturn."
Fatalistic economists say the attacks could push the United States into an official recession. And because our economy is so powerful, we could take the rest of the world down the tubes with us. The only thing that had been keeping us in the black, they tell us, was consumer confidence.
We can't afford to have our confidence shaken. The world can't afford it. Citizens were the victims in this act of war, and citizens must be the soldiers fighting back ... with our credit cards and checkbooks.
Keep the economy alive. It's the patriotic thing to do.
Monique Cole
Stephen Philion Lecturer/PhD Candidate Department of Sociology 2424 Maile Way Social Sciences Bldg. # 247 Honolulu, HI 96822