Stuck at the Airport and Thinking about "Acceptable Slaughter"

I am sitting at La Guardia airport in New York City. My flight has been delayed for 4 hours now. A gale is keeping our small commuter plane grounded with no end yet in sight. All around me I can overhear talk about yesterday's terrorist attacks in London. Someone just said, "It could happen anywhere, any time. Don't be surprised if a bomb goes off right here." The woman she was talking to said, "I wouldn't put it past them."

Rather melodramatic but recent events have exploded the myth of security. We had all been deluded for decades by the illusion that living in a military super-power somehow makes us invincible. Four years after 9/11, which cracked the illusion to pieces, people have been spending a lot of time trying to patch it back together again. It seemed to work, until yesterday.

In the press and on this blog I've been asked what I would do about terrorism if I were President. How would I prevent future attacks? How would I bring known terrorists to justice?

It's the Big Issue that causes everyone to draw in a long breath, waiting for the answer.

But the answer won't be forthcoming unless we untangle the complex web of events that all of us are bound in.

The first step could be to begin questioning our ideas about acceptable slaughter by any side. Is a bombing raid on a city where the majority of the dead turn out to be innocent women and children -- otherwise called "collateral damage" -- acceptable killing?

Is a beheading less acceptable?

Why is killing a person in uniform more acceptable than a person in civilian clothing?

Who makes the rules about "civilized vs. uncivilized" killing? Can we begin to question these rules?

I think most people would give answers that expose an underlying bias. This is the bias that of course "we" are good and mostly right while "they" are bad and mostly wrong. It's on that basis that unacceptable slaughter continues on all sides.

I would love to hear your thoughts.

I would also like to invite you to visit my own blog, www.intentblog.com.