John Savard
Well, "humiliation" comes from the same root as "humility". If someone is humiliated, that means it has been made difficult for that person in the future to hold his head up in pride and arrogance.

Someone who is humiliated is someone who is going to have a hard time being anything but humble in future.

Given that, while it's true that not being quite as safe or invincible as we thought we were is humiliating to an extent, it was never denied that an open society is vulnerable to terrorists. So "humiliation" isn't really the right word for anything connected with September 11 for America.

If anything, after all, after being the target of so foul a deed, Americans are a lot *less* inclined to apologize for using their muscle to defend themselves and find and stop those who did perpetrate, or who would perpetrate, such acts. America has become more bold, not more humble.

And it's hardly a humiliation to see someone apparently dancing for joy at the terrorist outrage. It's surprising. It's outrageous. But it doesn't say anything about *us*. They're the sick ones; they're the ones who will have to be humble after doing something like that.

Humiliation may indeed be one of the things the civilized world will have to endure before this is over, in one way or another. But at the moment, we can be very proud indeed - whether of the bravery of the rescue workers in New York, the courage of the soldiers in Afghanistan, or the wisdom and restraint of our politicians who, while resisting the urge to lash out at the entire nation of Afghanistan or the entire Arab world, did not shrink from doing what was necessary to stop al-Qaeda in its tracks.

Nothing has happened that prevents America from holding its head high. Quite the reverse, indeed.