When 9-11 happened, what depressed and horrified me the most was not the actual losses of life and property, although they were bad enough.
What horrified me most was hearing that the Muslim men involved might have attended college, gone to strip clubs and consumed alcohol. In short, they had every available benefit or pleasure western society offered - and still dedicated themselves to mass murder and suicide. If we cannot count on these sort of activities civilizing a person - or at least allowing them to release whatever intense emotion dominates them - I'm not sure what hope for humanity remains. What I fear most is the inevitable expansion of technology getting into Muslim hands - I hesitate to say "radical Muslims" because it still is not clear to me that such radicalism is really radical among large numbers of Muslims. At any rate, while cold fusion may not give us fissionable materials at present, We can't be sure that a simple procedure won't allow that kind of threat in the future, by whatever physics uncovers. We, of the west, have a right to survive as individuals and as a culture. I continue to hope that negotiation and good sense prevail everywhere, especially In the Middle East. Nevertheless, if these countries refuse to reform - and technology of mass destruction falls into the hands of terrorists with their blessings, I would not flinch at their mass annihilation. I am also horrified at the numbers of people who ignore this - and eagerly seize upon schemes of appeasement In the present crisis. Let's all hope for 'free energy' and the peace that it might bring about.
