Cognitive Dissonance

I received an email today, one of those post 9/11 types. I have seen it before, and now it is out again because of the terrible bombings in London...here it is:

Please pause a moment, reflect back, and take the following multiple choice test. The events are actual cuts from past history. They actually happened!!!Do you remember?-
1968 Bobby Kennedy was shot and killed by
a. Superman
b. Jay Lenno
c. Harry Potter
d. Muslim male extremist between the ages of 17 and 40

In 1972 at the Munich Olympics, athletes were kidnapped and massacred by
a. Olga Corbett
b. Sitting Bull
c. Arnold Schwarzenegger
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

In 1979, the US embassy in Iran was taken over by:
a. Lost Norwegians
b. Elvis
c. A tour bus full of 80-year-old women
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

During the 1980's a number of Americans were kidnapped in Lebanon by:
a. John Dillinger
b. The King of Sweden
c. The Boy Scouts
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

In 1983, the US Marine barracks in Beirut was blown up by:
a. A pizza delivery boy
b. Pee Wee Herman
c. Geraldo Rivera
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

In 1985 the cruise ship Achille Lauro was hijacked and a 70 year oldAmerican passenger was murdered and thrown overboard in his wheelchair by:
a. The Smurfs
b. Davy Jones
c. The Little Mermaid
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

In 1985 TWA flight 847 was hijacked at Athens, and a US Navy diver trying torescue passengers was murdered by:
a. Captain Kidd
b. Charles Lindberg
c. Mother Teresa
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

In 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed by:
a. Scooby Doo
b. The Tooth Fairy
c. Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kidd.
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

In 1993 the World Trade Center was bombed the first time by:
a. Richard Simmons
b. Grandma Moses
c. Michael Jordan
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

In 1998, the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed by:
a. Mr. Rogers
b. Hillary Clinton, to distract attention from Wild Bill' s women problems
c. The World Wrestling Federation
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40.

On 9/11/01, four airliners were hijacked; two were used as missiles to takeout the World Trade Centers and of the remaining two, one crashed into the US Pentagon and the other was diverted and crashed by the passengers.Thousands of people were killed by:
a. Bugs Bunny, Wiley E. Coyote, Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd
b. The Supreme Court of Florida
c Mr. Bean
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 4011.

In 2002 the United States fought a war in Afghanistan against:
a. Enron
b. The Lutheran Church
c. The NFL
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

In 2002 reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and murdered by:
a. Bonnie and Clyde
b. Captain Kangarooc
c. Billy Graham
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

Nope, I really don't see a pattern here to justify profiling, do you?So, to ensure we Americans never offend anyone, particularly fanatics intenton killing us, airport security screeners will no longer be allowed to profilecertain people. They must conduct random searches of 80-year-old women, little kids, airline pilots with proper identification, secret agents who are members of the President's security detail, 85-year old Congressmen with metal hips, and Medal of Honor winning and former Governor Joe Foss, but leave Muslim Males between the ages 17 and 40 alone because of profiling.Let's send this to as many people as we can so that the Gloria Aldreds andother dunder-headed attorneys along with Federal Justices that want to thwartcommon sense, feel doubly ashamed of themselves - if they have any such sense.As the writer of the award winning story "Forrest Gump" so aptly put it,"Stupid is as stupid does."Come on people wake up!!!

I don't remember if I mentioned that I was raised by hippie parents, who taught me that peace love and happiness is all we need to live..."all you need is love"... Ok, I am not naive enough to believe that if all sit around and sing kumbayah that we will all be healthy, happy and properous. However, I have always believed that things like racial profiling are wrong and un-American. But when you look at the examples above, it makes you think....as Americans, are we so blinded by our principles that we endanger the lives of our citizens?

I am one of the lucky New Yorkers that didn't lose anyone personally on 9/11, and I was employed at Tower 2 in 1993 when the bomb exploded in the basement...luckily I was out "in the field" selling when it happened. But one of my closest and oldest friends was in the basement of Tower 2 when the 1993 bomb hit. She survived to relay her fears and nightmares, and moved on with her life. But on 9/11, working further north in NYC, she was shaken to her bones as she was forced to relive what she had been through only 8 years earlier.

Could 9/11 have been prevented if we used racial profiling before allowing things like pilots licenses, car rentals, airline ticket purchases??? Are we so American that we continue to be a victim to those who want us destroyed? Have I lost all of my flower child naivete? Its a very sad day when you begin to doubt what your parents value so much. This is what the people who target our country and the people of the countries who reached out to us in our time of need have taken from us. Our innocence is gone. I have never been a supporter of the war in Iraq, and I still do not agree with what we are doing. But what is the answer? how do we end all this? Anyone wanna grab hands and sing Kumbayah? I'm game if you are.