In this week's New Yorker is a letter from Cairo. I think it is helpful in understanding the mindset of the soldier (but not the leaders) of the terrorist organizations to think on this quote:

• "It's very difficult to understand the machinery of hatred, because you wind up resorting to logic, but trying to understand this with logic is like measuring distance with kilograms. These are people who are afraid of America, afraid of life itself....These are people who are envious. To them, life is an unbearable burden. Modernism is the only way out. But modernism is frightening. It means we have to compete. It means we can't explain everything away with conspiracy theories...Bernard Shaw said it best...[i]n the preface to 'St. Joan,' he said Joan of Arc was burned not for any reason except that she was talented. Talent gives rise to jealousy in the hearts of the untalented."

- posted by levinson @ 10/04/2001 05:54:00 PM