How totally enlightening, compassionate and wise was Burt Hatlen’s op-ed of Oct. 19. How long will it take for us Americans to learn that military violence of retaliatory nature is not the way to world peace or peace of heart and mind between countries?

Why can we not learn and hear the cries of thousands before us … Buddha, Jesus Christ, Dietrich Bonhoeffer … and today we have the Dalai Lama who called for help in the ’60s when more than one million were slaughtered in Tibet by Chinese communists. He reminds us today that it is the prayers and help of The Friends of Tibet that brings a spirit of healing, not U.S. military. It is not by might but by the spirit that we live.

Paula Plaisted-Mooney

Bangor