Wednesday, 5 December 2001 : "the terrorists will have won..."

Who knew that defeating America could be so easy? Maybe the terrorists would have targeted Martha Stewart or Temecula if they had realized such icons were so crucial to U.S. survival.

Jeff Greenfield: "This all started out innocently, even appropriately enough, (that) if we live our lives in fear, then the terrorists have won. But it's since grown to mean just about anything the speaker disagrees with. If we tighten our visa screenings, if we change our immigration laws [etc. ...] I am beginning to think some of us are using this idea to justify just about any kind of behavior at all. If I'm too upset to eat this extra slice of chocolate cake, if I refuse to relax and enjoy myself by watching the Victoria's Secret fashion show, why then, the terrorists have won."

The St. Petersburg Times argued that going to the movies doesn't bring the victims of Sept. 11 back to life, nor does staying home somehow help Osama bin Laden. "What if the reason we're staying home is to play with our children because life's too short to waste two hours watching Ben Stiller make fun of male models?" the writer asked. "Just how is that a win for the terrorists? If we get our priorities straight, have the terrorists won?"