Carie Lemack
Blame Yourself

I unfortunately drove home tonight listening to horrible abc news radio. Ackkkk.

I am so sick of the activist 9-11 family members looking for someone to blame -- why not blame al-Qaida!

And if you insist on finding an American to blame ... blame yourself. You never stopped your loved one from working at the World Trade Center, which was a known terrorist target. If Americans were vigilant and attentive, we would have noticed that our country had repeatedly been attacked. We would avoid foreign travel (highjackings, kidnappings, bombings, Leon Klinghoffer & the Achille Lauro). We would avoid places like the World Trade Center which had already been attacked once. We would not go to these places until after we were assured that they were secure.

Because we value freedom, as citizens we have chosen to sacrifice total security for freedom, and we should know that freedom involves risk. We want to experience all we can - the exhilaration of life in the big city, exotic cultures, extreme sports and sometimes the choices we make are dangerous. We resist attempts to limit our lifestyle choices in order to make ourselves safer. I have a miata, and I know it's not the safest car to drive. But it's lots of fun and I love it. I don't want the nervous nellies in the nanny state to outlaw my fun. I try to drive her as safely as I can -- alert, aware, no hotdogging.

If a woman is attacked while jogging in the park, is it the police's fault? No! It is not the fault of the woman or the police, it is the fault of the rapist.

I wish we would all mourn for those who lost their lives on 9/11 and celebrate the lives they led.

There is no one to blame for 9/11 but the terrorists.