A Terror-Filled Day.

• Author: Rothschild, Matthew
• Position: Why the US should not respond to terrorist attacks with violence - Brief Article - Editorial

My heart goes out to the families of the victims of the diabolical terrorist attack that struck Pennsylvania, New York City, and the Pentagon yesterday, September 11.

I cannot begin to sense the horror the survivors are living through or appreciate the pain they are suffering.

It was impossible to watch the events unfold without almost getting physically ill. My colleague, Scot Vee Gamble, called me at the office at 8:15 in the morning, just as I was reading page proofs for what was to be this issue. (We understandably had to make some last minute changes.)

"Did you hear the news?" he asked.

"What news?"

"The World Trade Center has been hit. You better turn on the TV."

And so I, like millions of Americans, spent the day in front of the television. Staff members gathered in disbelief in our little conference room. Tears flowed.

I was numb. All I could do was mutter about how surreal it was, like Mars Attacks or Independence Day, and avert my eyes when the footage got gory.

I left the office early to be with my kids as they were getting home from school. I'm not a psychologist; I don't know how children can take in and digest such news. By the time I got home they had heard about the attacks already.

I tried to explain, as best I could, what had happened. I reassured them we were safe, especially way out here in Madison, Wisconsin. And my wife, Jean, and I limited their exposure to TV. We even went to my nine-year-old's soccer game, just to put a coat of normalcy on.

After getting the kids to bed, we fell asleep with the TV running.

I'm back at work today, September 12, and it looks like the United States is going to war.

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