In wake of tragedy, America needs to rebuild

It was the worst morning in American history. And it was yesterday.

Thousands of members of the Purdue community spent the morning holding their breath. With such an unprecedented assault on American soil and so little information available for most of the day, much of Purdue could only spend the morning and afternoon waiting and wondering.

In many ways the devastation was right here at Purdue. The violence was mental and emotional, and the rubble left inside of people here will never be cleaned up.

Although our country is filled with what feels like a quiet rage at the parties who would kill so many innocent people in order to convey a message, we must not forget the tragedy. We may want revenge, but we need to first reflect and rebuild.

Terrorism is only successful at creating chaos. When the chaos ends, the act loses its power. Though lives have been destroyed and the casualties are still too many to count, our first act must be to restore order. If we hastily strike back, motivated by rage and fear, we have only perpetuated the chaos and the terrorism. Which isn't to say that retaliation is not warranted nor a priority, just that we should heal first. This way we utilize our nation's full mind and our full might.

Freedom and liberty lie at the heart of America, the same heart that was attacked yesterday, and the same heart we must remember tomorrow. That freedom must embrace, not turn against, those in this country who might share a nationality or a religion with those responsible.

Our generation, one that has until now been bereft of truly historic moments, has now found itself thrust into history, but in tragedy, and not in triumph. Though September 11, 2001 is being compared to Pearl Harbor because of the vicious nature of the assault on American soil, it is the loss of innocence that really connects the events. No matter how young we are, everyone on this campus aged Tuesday with the news of our own country under siege.

Today we need to have quiet reflection on our own lives and the lives of those lost. We were injured as a country, and as a world.

In a world brought closer and closer together by communication technology and quick-transfer information, every country is connected to every other. The United States stock exchange being frozen Tuesday negatively affected all the other exchanges across the world. France and Germany lowered their own flags to half-mast in mourning. Though it's most visible in America, this is the largest coordinated terrorist act anywhere in the world. Ever.

And that terror reverberated everywhere. If America can be hurt, then so can anyone.

As a nation, we were shaken, yes, but we did not yield. Our national symbols were attacked and two were destroyed, but we did not stop being a nation. Americans came together Tuesday to give blood in record numbers. Businesses and corporations closed in order to give their employees time to reflect, or contact friends or family members. Thousands of lives were lost, but America was not.

And it is a tribute to this nation and its citizens that we pulled together to aid each other while still coping with the shock of the news.

n Editorial Board: Keith Thomas, Tom McHenry, Erica Sagon, Matt Poston, John Wakefield, Shawn McGann.

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