Dear Osama:
We've never met and if we did you would probably want to kill me. The feeling is mutual. I've seen you on TV and thought a lot about what you've done. That is why, this Thanksgiving, I want to thank you.
I'm not sure if I believe everything happens for a reason. I do know that some of the greatest lessons come from the worst tragedies. I know three areas where your hateful actions have changed me for the better and the world in which I live.
First, you have renewed my appreciation for what I have. Each Thanksgiving Americans pause, eat lots of turkey, and consider how fortunate we are. This year the task of assessing our good fortune was made easier given the attention your attacks have focused on life in Afghanistan.
I never imagined a place in the modern era where the government could outlaw shaving, where television was not permitted, and where women were forced to cover themselves completely or face injury. Thanks to the democracy I live in, my life is full of choices I am free to make - what religion I practice, where I settle and how I live. With hard work, the opportunities open to me are nearly unlimited.
Fortunately, all of my family and friends were saved from your attacks. For those families who did lose loved ones, I am lucky to have enough to donate something to the many organizations dedicated to helping them.
Those hurt by your terror extend beyond families of victims and include millions who have been hurt economically. Lost loved ones will never return and the best their families can hope for, with support, is to learn to cope with the loss. However, those who have lost a job or had a business fail will recover. America's economy will rebound. For that, I give thanks.
Secondly, you have exposed America's greatest strengths and its most critical weaknesses. Today, America is a more proud nation, full of purpose. We recognize that more sacrifices are necessary for progress. New York City's police and firemen and passengers of flight 93 have reunited virtues like selflessness and courage with the meaning of heroism. Following in their path are the volunteers who work tirelessly to cleanup the havoc you wreaked and the armed forces that will help prevent it from reoccurring. In my country, there are always individuals who pursue a common good instead of acting simply for personal gain. Thanks to them, your attacks will not break the bond that ties us together. In fact, you have only strengthened our sense of community. For that, I give thanks.
Among America's weaknesses your attack exposed is our endless struggles with racial tolerance and civil liberties. Since the attacks we have been forced to confront the urge of the powerful to suppress the rights of minorities. Some of our highest government officials have even fallen victim to the instincts that our laws were designed to prevent.
Their efforts will be resisted by those who remember the internment of Japanese during World War II and other horrors of America's past. The battle for equal justice exists in every democracy and it will survive long past our battles with you and your organization. By brining it to the surface you have helped us confront it directly, rather than shove it aside.
Your hatred for our country has reminded us that America must do a better job of explaining itself to the world. You point to American intervention in the Arab world as the cause for your attack. It seems America must do more to clarify its goals. In Bosnia and Albania, for example, we protected Muslims from religious persecution.
Lastly, you have united so many in the world against your evil intentions and towards freedom. You have offered a common enemy for the world to unite around. Nations that once approached each other cautiously are now partners in a fight against you.
On Sunday, the New York Times reported Secretary of State Colin Powell's feeling that "tense American relationships with Russia and China and even in the intractable Middle East . . . now seem more amenable to breakthroughs." Most recently, the world united against terrorism produced an agreement to decrease nuclear arsenals by President Bush and Prime Minister Putin. Possibilities for more progress by the new coalitions remain open. For that, I give thanks.
Do not mistake my appreciation for the positive repercussions of your attack as a thanks for what you've done. You made a grave mistake and for it, you will pay the price. You will live in fear, face trial, or die running. Your actions have destroyed your aims and strengthened my country.
In destroying your life, you have multiplied my appreciation for mine, strengthened my country, and united the world.
