A few days ago, I got this letter from Petra. Petra is a lifetime friend who happened to be an exchange student during our lovely "Global Studies" experiment in Red Lake Falls in the nineties. This is her reaction to my 911 Post.
I am totally amazed at how she can be so articulate in English. I wanted to share this because I loved it so much. I love how strong her voice is in her writing. I love that anyone can read this and know Petra. Anyone can know how thoughtful and loving she is. I've left her wording mostly as she put it... Her voice is so strong and lovely.
Hi Bobbi,
I just read your blog (I somehow didn´t notice the link, when I read your
email the first time). It is great, I just love it. And I loved the critical
part as well!
I just will write down what I think (I won´t check my spelling, just write
very fast and I will be quite direct, as it takes to much time to be
friendly all the time. I hope you don´t think, I´m mean European idiot)
Everyone was cuckoo after the planes crashed! But for Europeans it isn´t
something new to have a war next door or even terrorists in their own
country, we had that in the 70s and of course not all of them vanished and
having a war next door, is just normal. So we are safe, but not 100% safe,
but you actually never are. So for us that feeling vulnerable is "normal".
But still everybody was extremely shocked at 9/11, it was just so big and so
horrible. I don´t wan´t to say, that it wasn´t, it was!
But since then so many other bad things happened and from my point of view
some of your politicians just lost it. They are close to start a new war.
And what will happen then? The same that happened the last time. A lot of
people will lose their lives (on both sides, and not just terrorists) More
unhappy people, more extreme media and more fundamentalists (cause extreme
unhappy situations generate more fundamentalists). And less democracy. And
there I´m not only talking about the middle eastern countries, I´m as well
talking about the US. In Germany Hitler gained power without breaking the
law. I´m not thinking something will happen to the U.S., but if you are
living in a constitutional state / free government under the law you should
be proud of it and make it the most important thing at all.
For me as a German, the law that they can search your house, you, you data
and your computer, just because they think you might have connections to
terrorists, is just awful. That's like the Gestapo or the Stasi.
And that people are being kept in Guantanamo without trial, is just bending
the law and making it small and unimportant (again as the Naxis or the
Kommunists). After the trial of Bin Laden's driver, some U.S. official said,
that even if someone is found not guilty, they will still not set him free,
as he might be a danger to the people. And the people were just nodding
their heads. I was just shocked! If they can´t prove anything they have to
set him free. Like that it isn´t right. Principles have to bee as important
as safety. Else we all can live a controlled life in a kind of prison without
anything to lose. What is right, has to stay right. And Personal freedom is
as important as safety. There has to be a way, that both can exist parallel.
And for me it looks like this isn´t the case anymore in the U.S.
When I was little we Europeans were looking up to the US (at least it looked
like that to me), but we don´t anymore. Actually we are proud now , that we
learned our own lesson.
But that's just politics, of course I´m not talking about us as people. :)
And of course there is enough crap going on in Germany as well, so don´t
worry, I won´t loose it. And I hope you still like me, even when I´m a
critical German (that is exactly what we learned, and actually you Americans
taught our grandparents to be critical again).
Take care! Love
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