Letters: Mar. 17, 2003

America the Anxious

World security might be enhanced if duct tape were used to arrest the inflammatory rhetoric flowing from the mouths of world politicians. ROBERT W. GRAHAM Fairview Park, Ohio

Who does the U.S. government think it's kidding by declaring an orange-level, high-risk alert [NATION, Feb. 24]? Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge's urging Americans to get survival kits, plastic sheeting and duct tape was yet another sad attempt by the Bush Administration to get the American people to support an unjust war by heightening our anxiety. TED KEPES Chestnut Hill, Mass.

Of course America is "A Nation On Edge," and it has been since 9/11. We have all had to readjust our thinking and must continue to do so as long as there are depraved terrorists who can give meaning to their lives only by becoming martyrs through killing other human beings. Where is our pride? Where is our stamina? We are Americans. We will overcome. We will do whatever is required to end terrorist activities. Get some guts, people. JANET L. DUTTER Las Vegas

"A Nation On Edge" depicted the U.S. as living in fear. This is not the America that I see and hear every day. The people buying duct tape and plastic sheeting are the same ones who waited in line to pay $4 a gallon for gas after 9/11. While Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein are cowering in a cave or living in a bunker, the majority of Americans are living their daily lives without fear. On a recent trip, I saw a bumper sticker that sums it up best: AIN'T SKEERD. CURTIS TAYLOR Muncie, Ind.

Duct tape? I remember duck-and-cover exercises in grade school, when we got under our desks in drills that were supposed to prepare us for a nuclear Armageddon. I'll go on living my life, breathing the fresh air, thank you. We should be vigilant and proactive in our defense, but I refuse to be cowed by a bunch of shadowy, third-rate jihadists. MARC A. LEHMAN Albuquerque, N.M.

Great leaders inspire courage, not fear. U.S. officials are instilling anxiety not only in Americans but also in people throughout the world. BARBARA S. COHEN Glen Cove, N.Y.

As a military wife, I can relate to being on edge. My husband is one of the many soldiers who are stationed in the Middle East. I absolutely support my husband and what he is doing. But I want him to come home and act as if nothing is going on in that part of the world. I am proud that my husband is willing to fight for what is right. It was his choice to join the military, and it is mine to support him. KRISTEN RYAN Fort Benning, Ga.

I deal with Ridge's rainbow of alarms the same way I handle every other piece of information from this Administration: with extreme skepticism. President Bush will manipulate the alert level as needed to advance his two key goals: centralizing power in the Executive Branch and rewarding the loyal elite. I've been at alert-level red since December 2000 when the Supreme Court decided that Bush would be President. PAUL R. WARD Redlands, Calif.