Dear WSLEA & WSRLEA Members, Families, and
Friends of Law Enforcement and Emergency Personnel

The attacks of Tuesday, September 11, 2001, were an immense tragedy. Our hearts go out to the victims and their families and friends. It is hard for us to make sense of the loss of life of so many innocents. I recoil when I try to imagine the terror of passengers aboard the doomed airplanes, of employees in the shattered buildings, and of rescue workers trapped while trying to find survivors.

We all grieve for the survivors and wish to comfort those who still don't know what happened to friends and loved ones.

This attack was an attack on freedom and an attack on our virtues. Terrorists seek social change through random acts of violence that destabilize our society and destroy our economy. They seek to punish us by robbing us of the kind of society we have created.

In the days ahead we must continually remind ourselves that what makes America great is that we are a free people. We must continually remind ourselves that our strength is derived from that freedom. We must realize that vindication for the victims and survivors will come not just from punishing the perpetrators of these horrors but also from strengthening our free institutions, which will only make us stronger and more capable of preventing future attacks.

Our Founding Fathers began a unique experiment in individual liberty that has made our nation and our economy the envy of the world. Yesterday's tragic events remind us just how fragile liberty can be. They should also give us the resolve to preserve our freedoms. A nation as prosperous and free as America is a rarity in world history. We must protect and cherish those freedoms so all Americans can enjoy the prosperity we have so proudly built.

The terrorists' goal was to make us turn against what made us great in order to weaken us. We will defeat their purpose by uniting in the cause of freedom. That will make us stronger.

We must now have a debate about how to protect ourselves against future attacks. We must figure out how to bring these murderers to justice. Let us couple those debates with a national discussion about why this was an attack on freedom and how we must work to strengthen our freedoms in order to thwart the goals of freedom's enemies.

What can you do now? Many of our WSLEA members and staff have given blood and contributed to relief funds. As you gather at meetings, your place of worship, your community organization or when you are just talking to your family or your neighbors about all this don't forget to talk to people about what has made this country strong. We must never waver in our defense of freedom.

And let us never forget the individuals who just gave their lives to the cause of freedom.

Mark Renz - President, WSLEA • Terry Lattin - President, WSRLEA
Mike Matson - Executive Vice President, WSLEA