Our son Greg is among the many missing from
the World Trade Center attack. Since we first heard the news, we have shared
moments of grief, comfort, hope, despair, fond memories with his wife, the two
families, our friends and neighbors, his loving colleagues at Cantor Fitzgerald
/ ESpeed, and all the grieving families that daily meet at the Pierre Hotel.
We see our hurt and anger reflected among everybody we meet.
We cannot pay attention to the daily flow of news about this disaster. But we
read enough of the news to sense that our government is heading in the direction
of violent revenge, with the prospect of sons, daughters, parents, friends in
distant lands dying, suffering, and nursing further grievances against us. It
is not the way to go. It will not avenge our son's death. Not in our son's name.
Our son died a victim of an inhuman ideology. Our actions should not serve the
same purpose. Let us grieve. Let us reflect and pray. Let us think about a rational
response that brings real peace and justice to our world. But let us not as
a nation add to the inhumanity of our times.
Copy of letter to White House:
Dear President Bush:
Our son is one of the victims of Tuesday's
attack on the World Trade Center. We read about your response in the last few
days and about the resolutions from both Houses, giving you undefined power
to respond to the terror attacks. Your response to this attach does not make
us feel better about our son's death. It makes us feel worse. It makes us feel
that our government is using our son's memory as a justification to cause suffering
for other sons and parents in other lands. It is not the first time that a person
in your position has been given unlimited power and came to regret it. This
is not the time for empty gestures to make us feel better. It is not the time
to act like bullies. We urge you to think about how our governement can develop
peaceful, rational solutions to terrorism, solutions that do not sink us to
the inhuman level of terrorists.
Sincerely,
Phyllis and Orlando Rodriguez