Written by an 18-year old.

An open letter to a terrorist:

Well, you hit the World Trade Center, but you missed America. You hit
the Pentagon, but you missed America. You used helpless American bodies,
to take out other American bodies, but like a poor marksman, you STILL
missed America.

Why? Because of something you guys will never understand. America
isn't about a building or two, not about financial centers, not about
military centers, America isn't about a place, America isn't even about
a bunch of bodies. America is about an IDEA. An idea, that you can go
someplace where you can earn as much as you can figure out how to, live
for the most part, like you envisioned living, and pursue Happiness. (No
guarantees that you'll reach it, but you can sure try!) Go ahead
and whine your terrorist whine, and chant your terrorist litany: "If you
can not see my point, then feel my pain." This concept is alien to
Americans. We live in a country where we don't have to see your point.
But you're free to have one. We don't have to listen to your speech. But
you're free to say one. Don't know where you got the strange idea that
everyone has to agree with you. We don't agree with each other in this
country, almost as a matter of pride. We're a collection of guys that
don't agree, called States. We united our individual states to protect
ourselves from tyranny in the world. Another idea, we made up on the
spot. You CAN make it up as you go, when it's your country. If you're
free enough.

Yeah, we're fat, sloppy, easy-going goofs most of the time. That's
an unfortunate image to project to the world, but it comes of feeling
free and easy about the world you live in. It's unfortunate too, because
people start to forget that when you attack Americans, they tend to
fight like a cornered badger. The first we knew of the War of 1812, was
when England burned Washington D.C. to the ground. Didn't turn out like
England thought it was going to, and it's not going to turn out like you
think, either. Sorry, but you're not the first bully on our shores, just
the most recent.

No Marquis of Queensbury rules for Americans, either. We were the
FIRST and so far, only country in the world to use nuclear weapons in
anger.

Horrific idea, nowadays? News for you bucko, it was back then too,
but we used it anyway. Only had two of them in the whole world and we used 'em both.
Grandpa Jones worked on the Manhattan Project. Told me once, that right
up until they threw the switch, the physicists were still arguing over
whether the Uranium alone would fission, or whether it would start a
fissioning chain reaction that would eat everything. But they threw the
switch anyway, because we had a War to win. Does that tell you something
about American Resolve?

So who just declared War on us? It would be nice to point to some
real estate, like the good old days. Unfortunately, we're probably at
war with random camps, in far-flung places. Who think they're safe. Just
like the Barbary Pirates did, IIRC. Better start sleeping with one eye
open.

There's a spirit that tends to take over people who come to this
country, looking for opportunity, looking for liberty, looking for
freedom. Even if they misuse it. The Marielistas that Castro emptied out
of his prisons, were overjoyed to find out how much freedom there was.
First thing they did when they hit our shores, was run out and buy guns.
The ones that didn't end up dead, ended up in prisons. It was a big PITA
then (especially in south Florida), but you're only the newest PITA, not the first. You guys seem to
be incapable of understanding that we don't live in America, America
lives in US! American Spirit is what it's called. And killing a few
thousand of us, or a few million of us, won't change it. Most of the
time, it's a pretty happy-go-lucky kind of Spirit. Until we're crossed
in a cowardly manner, then it becomes an entirely different kind of
Spirit.

Wait until you see what we do with that Spirit, this time. Sleep
tight, if you can. We're coming.

Charles Brennan