To Sam

Look, just don't tell me it's impossible, ok? I refuse to believe that goodness, reconciliation, and human dignity have no place in the world, that systems and cycles of violence can't be overturned. It's possible. There's lots of details I don't know, I admit. But whatever it is, we take it in, and we incorporate it, and we try to work with it. Yeah, if earth is a game of Risk, if it's all about strategic moves with a roll of the dice, then yes, we're fucked. But if it's words, a message, if it's a human face talking, reasoning, listening, compromising, explaining, caring, repenting, relenting, repairing, then I think we might have a shot. Let's stand before the world and make our case. Let's be a little creative, there is more than one option. And peace makes more sense than hatred, it does. It's better for you because it's better for all of us. Don't you understand, Osama? And we will put down our guns too. We will all surrender. Ok ok, we'll keep our guns, just for now, but we will stick them in the closet until we feel pretty sure you won't come after us, because we know, we've screwed you, and it's awful and we are so sorry and what can we do to make this better. We are coming to you because we are tired of terrorizing you, it is our fear that has gripped us, and we want to make things better.

No, peace is not for pansies. It's not safe, setting down your guns. Of course it's not. Are you looking for a way out of death? You won't find it. But you underestimate the power of ideas. The world bows before goodness, it does. The world bows before the courage to say we're sorry. It's magical stuff. God no, it doesn't fix everything, and we can't put down our guns without recognizing the dangers. Some people don't see us as humans anymore. They can't look into our faces and see their mothers or their sons or Jesus. They see murderers and monsters, but the thing is, as long as we let our fear guide us, then we are, we are monsters and murderers. I don't want to die a monster. I don't want to wave the flag of a country of murderers. I refuse to kill the ones we're holding hostage because we're holding them hostage. I will not look in the face of the wrongly accused and tell them our mistakes will cost them their lives. No, let the prisoners go free. Let them go free, but talk to them, apologize to them, offer them whatever you have. And quit expecting, quit appealing to the worst in people. When you appeal to the worst, the worst is what grows. Treat a human being like a human being and see if they don't start acting like one.

My hope is small and it is fragile, tentative, modest, but I won't give it up. The world needs a little idealism if it's going to survive.