Avoid 'knee-jerk' reactions....9/11/01

America has lost her virginity and perhaps her arrogance. We cannot afford to have an isolated attitude and think that the pain in the rest of the world will not touch us sooner or later. We cannot afford to only intervene in the rest of the world when the issue is connected to oil or other resources important to our commerce.

We must, as we have in the past, take our role as the world leader much more seriously and stop being so heavy-handed. We must become statesmen, diplomats and use our resources and power to make a difference in the world.

Yes, those who did this deed must be held accountable. But we are now at risk that our collective anger could make things worse. Now is not the time for knee-jerk reactions. It is time to look at our own historical actions, take a deep breath and act in a measured, deliberate fashion.