My view of this situation is somewhat emotional. My daughter actually lives in London. Still, I am not worried for her, I am worried for all of us. How can humankind be so short-sighted that it makes its own existence on this globe so insecure? How could we have reached such a low point that we cannot use the most developed air transportation systems without fear? How can we be systematically destroying our chances for peaceful progress in the 21st century? How could we let international stability and governance degrade to such an extent that a small group of people is able to hold all of us virtually hostage? Isn’t that ridiculous?

I wish I could say what we should do. I wish I had known the answer and been asked before the World Trade Center towers went down. I am afraid things have gone overboard since then, and it may be too late to return to the path of normality, at least for a long time.

If I were the president of the United States or the prime minister of the United Kingdom, I would stop the current wars. I would take the major terrorist organizations seriously, and would try to engage with them by all means, including negotiation. Even if the odds are low that any politician or power can come to an agreement with them, low chances are still better than no chance.

Until then, we should pray when we travel by plane. Pray when we visit London, or other population centers. Pray that when we read the newspapers we do not have to find more names and numbers of innocent victims. That at least on some days, there will be good news instead.