P000257
Monday, January 28, 2002 11:29 PM
Who are the real victims
I have been reading the comments of my fellow Americans, and it turns my stomach to know that we are so inhuman. So I ask who are the real victims. The dead or the live ones that are left behind to witness the turning on each other. Why? I will try and answer.
I am a retired fire fighter and when I saw what took place on September 11th, I wanted to pick up the phone and tell the fire fighters to go into a defensive mode. I couldn't, I am in Washington, DC and watching the events in New York. I know what they were thinking, lives to be saved. With our training this is our first reaction in this type of situation.
"Save lives first, property second and ourselves last." God bless those who lost there lives doing what they were trained, and paid to do for the citizens of America.
Now comes the compensation awards. " Money changes people." The almighty dollar rules again. The real victims are the ones who lost their lives. I am sure they are so embarrassed of the actions by their love ones, and their fellow Americans. The highest honor we can pay these people would be to put all the evil thoughts away. Why can't we put these evil actions behind us? It is because of the money.
The government has done the one thing they always do, put the dollar bills out there. We in America think money is the answer to many of our problems. I am sure there are other solutions. It would be good to let a common American sit in on some of these panels that make decisions like this. It is awful strange that under a Republican president the plan was to save big business. The airlines, the insurance companies and the mortgage companies. Why couldn't they focus on education, that would build a strong future of America. Set up funds for the children left behind. Pay off the mortgages of the victims. With this compensation, who is to say it will be used in the way it was intended.
We are spending more money to rebuild a country that gave aid to the same people that created this situation. Why? We don't owe them more than we do our own.
Because of this money the real victims have been forgotten. They are having a better life, where ever their faith has led them. We should not let these victims fall victim to greed and deceit also.
Retired Wash. D.C. Fireman
Individual Comment