Musing

You are so right, five years later and virtually untold dollars spent and little has changed. Certainly the hate is still there, perhaps more rampant than ever. Still today my heart aches for the loss, the loss the families had to sustain, but also the loss of respect and tolerance toward Muslims, now all branded as potential terrorists. To this day, my mind is unable to stop the replay of the planes flying directly into the towers, the fear those people must have felt, when all they were doing was going to work every day in an effort to live their lives. How do we go back? How do we go forward? One important point for the world to remember is that is not hate that rules, it is that love conquers all, SB, Calgary

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Mark, again you articulated a profound topic that often lies beneath the surface. Is hate the motivation of suicide bombers. We disagree with their actions and we feel strongly and negatively about their actions but should we conclude that they hate us based on our feelings about their actions. Lots of very damaging things are done in the name of advancing a cause and lots of emotions predispose to suicide. Do motivations matter since other people must now protect themselves against suicide bombers whatever their motivation? Unrelated to motivations, I note that the media, without comment or notice, has yet again changed the meaning of yet another word when they used the word martyr to describe suicide - until now martyr has described someone who suffers at the hands of others, LHE, Calgary

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Candle ceremony? Sounds like a cult orientation! Mark, I love your musings but am scaling back my work schedule to one office day per week. Could you please change my email address to my home email – Thanks, EJ, Calgary

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RE: " most days, especially this one, it is difficult to view that side with any objectivity, with any compassion for their grievances against the west, against the US, against anyone who does not see things their way " - How true. We (North Americans and Europeans) can be pretty sanctimonious about what "they" have done to us but few would take the time to read a enough history to understand that "they" have some very valid grievances. In saying this I certainly do not in any way condone the choices being made to respond to those grievances. 9/11 and other terrorist actions are not and can not be supportable. The reality, however, is that Europeans (and more recently North Americans) have been meddling inappropriately in the Middle East and South Asia for hundreds of years so the list of wrongs they have accumulated is long. I have a friend who came to Canada from Iraq prior to the "war to free the Iraqi people". Her mother, sister and a brother remained there. Prior to being "freed" by the US and their allies they had dependable food, water and electricity supplies. They could walk in their neighbourhood streets in safety. Basically they enjoyed the same privileges we do with the notable exception of being able to vote in their government. Now that they are free and can vote in their government, food, water and electricity are sporadic at best and often unavailable. Most importantly, safety is a thing of the past. After 5 years of misery and toughing it out hoping for things to get better, they have finally had quite enough of this freedom and have moved to the United Arab Emirates. The family home is theoretically worth a great deal of money, however, not surprisingly there isn't much of a real estate market in Iraq right now so they have had to abandoned it - much to the devastation of my friend's mother who is in her 70s. Those of us who have older parents understand the emotional turmoil of older people having to leave their homes; imagine the impact on an old woman of leaving not only her home but also her country. Naturally, these people are lucky. They have resources enough to be able to leave where many do not have that luxury. I would guess that thousands if not millions of Iraqis are today wondering what the big deal is about freedom and democracy. The extended impact of people who can leave doing so, is that they are also frequently the ones who can contribute the most to rebuilding. My friend's sister is a good example as she is a doctor who will no doubt be much missed by her patients, BB, Calgary

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"go to Hanna"...? Why? I spent the weekend in Hanna, as I do every 4 or 5 weeks because Ken's parents live in Hanna, and it is not what I would consider the ideal place for a weekend getaway. Sure, it has the Kroeger's (the Nickleback boys), flocks of geese, lots of deer and antelope, and some very nice people but its' a pretty dreary and drought-stricken location. The area has great some qualities but the town government has not done the town justice. It's downtown looks unkempt and in disrepair and they have a completely illogical building code process -- industrial mixed with restaurants and homes -- not pretty!! I grew up only a few miles west of Hanna, in Delia. Maybe I'm too close to the place and can't see or appreciate it's hidden qualities... , CC, Calgary