Counting the Dead From an Ivory Tower

Re Patt Morrison’s “Attack Will Test How Much We Believe in America,” Sept. 12: In her comments on terrorism she said she’d rather save the original Bill of Rights than a living, human night watchman in a burning building. The most important thing about the Bill of Rights is that its precepts and concepts exist and are known! The same form exists in libraries, encyclopedias, almanacs and history books.

When the artifact (symbolic thing) becomes more important than the actual (trying to practice and maintain its ideals), you don’t have to worry about foreign terrorists. They prize values and doctrines more than living people, too. If you do the same, you’re on your way to becoming an intellectual and domestic terrorist.

Horace Coleman

Long Beach

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My heart was warmed by many of the letters (Sept. 12) as well as Morrison’s column about the terrorist attack on America. I agree that once we become a police state for “our own protection” we will no longer be the land of the free. The only answer is to eliminate the problem, not hide from it.

In 1969 I stood at our Capitol protesting against a war that was infringing on our freedom. Today, I would return demanding that we protect our home, our country and our freedom at any cost. I would even serve myself. We must never forget that the price of the past 50 years of prosperity came at the cost of many American lives during WWII. If we need to ensure the next 50 years the same way, so be it. We must bravely march forward to the task.

Jan M. Foster

West Hollywood

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Morrison’s reaction to the horrors of Sept. 11 is to self-aggrandizingly assure us what a concerned liberal she is. She states how upset she was because an armed National Guard patrolled the streets in response to the 1992 riots. Maybe she believes that terrorists should be tolerated, as she apparently does rioters. She is also critical of scanning and searches. I am sure terrorists would agree with her.

Judge Harry Pregerson, admittedly an outstanding jurist, is crowned by her as the “day’s most inspiring figure.” This assessment includes all the volunteers, policemen and firemen who risked their lives in attempts to rescue victims of the tragedy, with more than 200 policemen and firemen dying. With all due respect to Pregerson, this assessment is ridiculous.

Jim Hagar

Woodland Hills