let's air a spectrum of views

[Doug Millison]

Otto:
"But as a reader of Mr. Pynchon's novels I've learned to watch
politicians
critically and I don't believe everything "They" are telling us.
Sometimes
it's hard to tell the truth from the propaganda, which goes of course
for
all those ZNet & Alter.net-messages too."

I agree that it's a good idea to listen to our government leaders very
carefully and supplement what they say with information from other sources.
Reading those ZNet and Alternet articles helps to balance out and provide
points of view you may not find in your local newspapers, NYTimes,
Washington Post, network and cable TV news -- that's why I send them along
in our current discussion of 911 and the resulting Situation.  I think all
these ideas deserve to be heard and considered and discussed as we move
toward some more comprehensive understanding of what's going on and how we
should respond.  The principal of my son's high school said it well, in a
brief speech he made for the students at a school meeting he convened the
day after the attacks:  "We must keep in mind that the rhyme and reason
behind the tragedy are still largely hidden. We do not have all the data
yet. Your task will be to examine your own convictions. You will listen to
your teachers and classmates and the media. But, in the end, you will have
to distill the facts for yourself."

I consider that to be good advice, and I encourage all of us to follow it.

Compassion + critical thinking = understanding.

-Doug