A very interesting post at Protein Wisdom. Here’s how Obama reacted in 2001 and and how McCain reacted. It’s interesting how much these statements reveal about the two candidates.
Looking back to that horrible day, seven years ago:
We must also engage, however, in the more difficult task of understanding the sources of such madness. The essence of this tragedy, it seems to me, derives from a fundamental absence of empathy on the part of the attackers: an inability to imagine, or connect with, the humanity and suffering of others. Such a failure of empathy, such numbness to the pain of a child or the desperation of a parent, is not innate; nor, history tells us, is it unique to a particular culture, religion, or ethnicity. It may find expression in a particular brand of violence, and may be channeled by particular demagogues or fanatics. Most often, though, it grows out of a climate of poverty and ignorance, helplessness and despair.–Barack Obama, Hyde Park Herald,/i> Sept. 19, 2001.
“This is obviously an act of war that has been committed on the United States”
– John McCain, September 12, 2001
One last reminder: Osama bin Laden? Pretty wealthy. So to “connect with” his “suffering” would have meant empathizing with his desire for a new Caliphate and a return of pan-Arabism — while pretending that the wealthy educated Arabs behind modern radical Islamism are victims of poverty, helplessness, and despair, instead of noticing that they are modern-day megalomaniacs and wannabe prophets acting out of a desire to undermine the ideological sway of western liberalism.
Food for thought, at the very least — and an insight into the worldviews espoused by the presidential candidates for 2008.
