Political Content Follows.

This article about the penalty phase in the Zacarias Moussaoui trial features what is perhaps the bravest statement I’ve seen anyone make in this current political climate:

Rosemary Dillard, whose husband Eddie died in the attacks, said of Moussaoui: “He’s a bad man, but we have a fair society.” She said of terrorists: “We will treat them with respect no matter what they do to us.”

Her restraint is amazing; she not only lost her husband on 9/11 – she lost a half-dozen coworkers. Rosemary had been with American Airlines for nearly 3 decades and was a base manager at Dulles that morning. She’s been actively involved in the pursuit of truth of what happened and where responsibility lies on that day.

Those elements demanding reciprocity and screaming that “an eye for an eye” is the only way need to look to her example. Rosemary went home every night to an empty bed after spending tireless hours in courtrooms, looking at a man accused of helping make sure her husband died. Makes sticking a ribbon on a car look downright pathetic, doesn’t it?