Our Honolulu
Humor might help us cope
By Bob Krauss
Advertiser Columnist
The really difficult thing for me about dealing with world-class terrorism is feeling guilty for wanting to feel good.
It began about the 10th time a television newscast ran the picture of an airliner diving into a World Trade Center Tower in a ball of flame. That picture made me want to turn off the set. Yet the picture wouldn't go away, because this was the new reality. I felt ashamed for being unable to grasp it.
When I tried to write about it, I couldn't. That would be further compounding the violation of thousands of victims.
The column I'd written before it occurred was about flowers, as out of place as a joke at a funeral. Everything had changed. I felt guilty that what I felt was resentment when thousands of people had died.
In a strange way, consequences of the tragedy have begun to make it bearable. I went to Pier 10 to help plan the Second annual Honolulu Harbor Festival. For the first time, a young guard politely asked to see a photo ID.
Our chairman wasn't at the meeting because he couldn't get back from the Mainland. Our vice chairman, scheduled to be away, sat in because he couldn't get out.
Our new lifestyle kept cropping up. A stevedore boss said he couldn't bring in 15 men from Maui and Hawai'i to unload a ship on O'ahu until interisland air service resumed.
Then came the big question. Should we cancel the festival because of these uncertainties? Would it be in bad taste? Nobody wanted to cancel so we're going ahead. Terror shouldn't take over our lives.
Something else that has helped me cope with this horror is the new cooperative mood in Washington, the way Congress and the president are consulting with one another instead of fighting.
Certainly, the nation is ready to support our leaders. It's heartening to think that their decisions are being made for unselfish reasons.
Finally, the information about terrorism that's coming down has begun to make it understandable, if not acceptable, to me, at least. If Osama bin Laden is our sworn enemy, we'd better know something about people like him.
I admit that I haven't paid him much attention and have been insensitive to the reasons he's a hero to some of the Muslim world. It looks to me that he represents a danger that won't go away just because he's caught.
The lesson, I think, is that we can't do it alone. A missile shield isn't worth diddly squat against knives and box openers. What it takes is cooperation by nations to isolate and punish the rogues.
Meanwhile, airport security will remind people my age of World War II. But we survived it. Our Honolulu even spawned a new humor column in The Advertiser about wartime frustration.
Perhaps one way to get through this is to feel good about ourselves. The first time a reader calls in with a humorous anecdote, I'll know we're getting our equilibrium back.
Reach Bob Krauss at 525-8073 or bkrauss@honoluluadvertiser.com.
