This week marks the 20th anniversary of the devastating attacks of 9/11. Much will be written and spoken about the horrors of that day, and most of us will reflect on where we were and what we thought when we heard of those attacks.

Last week the 20-year war that followed those attacks was ended. Again, it was not pretty, and many have given opinions about how that operation was pulled off.

Wouldn’t this be an appropriate time to think about war? I’d like to see pundits, panelists, professors, and people on the street, discuss war — its horrors, its cost, its consequences. We could examine our attitudes and behaviors; our speech. (How we “fight” for our rights and wage “war” on poverty — using terms of conflict.)

Let’s have open, frank discussions about war in our culture. Patriotism? Revenge or reconciliation? Life in this century for ourselves and our world? Are there ways we can focus more on peace and getting along with others and less on defeat, shame and loss?

That, it seems to me, would be the most appropriate way to mark this anniversary. That is how we as a society might benefit.

Eunice Stover, West Poland

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