Despite the claims in Ramsey Tesdell’s column, nonviolence will not work against terrorism. Often times, living in the Western Hemisphere, we like to impose our views on people from other parts of the world and expect them to think as we do.

In the Western Hemisphere, it is sufferable to make change with non-violence.

Unfortunately, Islamic extremists (the root of terrorism against America) do not agree with this. Moreover, terrorists believe that it is their god-given right to destroy those who oppose them, by any means necessary.

Although Western civilization has progressed toward a less godless, more individual-willed lifestyle, many people in Middle Eastern countries do not agree with this way of life. With secularization as the root of democracy, terrorists will always spring from Middle Eastern countries, denouncing and perpetuating their holy war.

The real issue is that when Western countries want to do economic business with a country that has some sort of faith intertwined in its government, we as Westerners dictate that democracy as the only way to live; thus the terrorist is awakened.

The Western world says that nonviolence is the way to bring about change. But it will only work if we live in a society that nourishes such an ethical code that corresponds with nonviolence. I’m afraid we will not find that when fighting terrorists.

Peris Chamberlain

Senior

Industrial Technology