The Action and the Reaction-- Part II
by Gordon Francis Corbett

The unsettling "action," whatever it is, can be bad enough, in itself; but our worst danger stems from our government's "reaction." To judge that reaction soundly, we must keep our heads.

When, on 11 September, I watched the endlessly repeated replays of the airliners' crashes into the World Trade Center's towers, I wanted to kill.
Only later, when the television was turned off and my blood-pressure could lessen, did I begin to think more coolly.

Much later, I saw an interview with two former Federal Representatives. Lee Hamilton and Newton Leroy Gingrich, both members of the Council on
Foreign Relations, were pushing the creation of a cabinet-level department proposed before the attacks. Its suggested name was, "The Office of
Homeland Security."

That name rang all the bells in the firehouse. I remembered the initials, "RSHA." They stood for, "Reichssicherheitshauptamt," or, "Realm Security Head Office." The fellow who headed it was a delightful chap named Kaltenbrunner, who worked for another named Himmler.

Within weeks of that interview, we were given "our" Office of Homeland Security.

Today, we have banks and merchants reporting their customers' "unusual" transactions. We have police agencies snooping into our electronic mail. We have military "tribunals" operating for the express purpose of denying to foreign suspects their rights under the Constitution.

President Bush and the Congress could do these things because too many of our friends are still bedazzled by 11 September's horror. Their presence
of mind will return. As it does, we must sift our sources for bits of news, piece together the picture they form, and discuss it with them.

Above all, we must not let fear shut our mouths. As Ronald Reagan said in another context, "If we do not stand up to be counted, we will have to line up to be numbered."