Respond to other quotes. We also invite you to visit our Take Part section where you'll find additional opportunties to offer feedback and engage in dialogue with other viewers.

Poster: James Flowers
Caption: I agree. And it is the reason that American Citizens need to embrace and form a reciprocal solidarity with the Citizens of Iraq.

Poster: Chad
Caption: I think that not only can we not disengage ourselves, but we must also not become the oppressors or imperialists attempting to set things right by forcing compliance. We must learn to bring about changes through peaceful resolutions. If we are to learn anything from the Reagan years it should be that we can be friends with our enemies and even partners in some circumstances. When pitted against tyranny, freedom always prevails. We must now, more than ever, lead by example. I think other nations will come to realize our wisdom. We must open up windows, not throw accusations and condemnations through them.

Poster: Gurbilash Nagpaul
Caption: I enjoed the interview very much, I agree that reigion is used very often to exploit others and in the name of religion poor people suffer the most as they are most vulnerable. In India it is seen very often wher Mr. Rushdie comes from.

Poster: C.M. Ramakrishna
Caption: I don't think we are disengaged. We are engaged but not in the right way, in the proper way. 9/11 was an extreme reaction to our biased and shortsighted foreign policy in the Middle East. We talk of democracy but support dictatorships around the world. America does not care for the poor and the oppressed. even though it talks loudly about human rights. We ourselves are slowly sliding into dictatorship, a theocracy, at that, if Bush administration has its way.

Poster: Fiona Cortland
Caption: ...and so it is written.............

Poster: Dick Mozzer
Caption: We are as those first hominids pushed out of the jungle onto the plains. We are exposed and vulnerable but we have a wider view to be thankful for. Now we can see each other more clearly.

Poster: Michael
Caption: It is far too early to know if 9/11 was a hinge moment. Perhaps for those of us who were alive when it happened. Unlikely for the next generation.

Poster: A. Crocker
Caption: September 11 was not a true hinge moment in the course of events, but instead it was the shock of the people in this country felt from being attacked directly. Since it was the first mass terrorist attack the U.S. has sustained, it brought about a sense of reality that we are just as vulnerable as any other place in the world. Also, historically this country for the last 100 years has been involved itself (with a variety of agendas...)with numerous countries around the world, thereby creating situations that inevitably bind us to others' issues.

Poster: chris wadhera,east brunswick nj
Caption: true to a certain point.9/11 is a historical marker in american society. americans asked 'why do they hate us?' and perhaps it was the general public in america stunned by this violence. we cannot ignore the fact that we were interconnected politically and economically for a very long time. faith is masking all underlying social and economical cultural problems. people unite in faith. now we have to deal with faith of various cultures in this world. we must face it. dear mr moyers, thank you for an inspiring hour.

Poster: Candace Christensen
Caption: Mr. Rushdie may not get this message but those of you who produced this show and who are gathering responses..thank you!! I can't remember ever having a more insightful and inspiring time..Mr. Rushie speaks my mind...far better than I can and I am so grateful that he..and others out there..reflect my beliefs. When I was a little one..no more than 3 or so..I remember something that has to do with our innate kindness and also our opportunities to learn. I gave another child my piece of candy..because he was crying. What I learned from that is that I didn't give it away out of generousity..I gave it away because I didn't like peppermint!! I recieved lots of praise for it...and I KNEW I didn't deserve praise at all. And so..we learn about ourselves..and so we DO have an innate sense of right and wrong..and humility.

Poster: J. W. Kramer
Caption: He has hit the nail on the head.

Poster: KEDAR
Caption: Yeah, strife has this backside that allows for intimate bonds to be established. Too many things would be taken for granted in a all-tolerant world, in such impossiblity of a world. Fortunately. White is essential for black to show, or vice-versa. Are violance and happiness(togetherness) directly proportional? I am afraid we will have bigger, badder 'hinge' meoments to deal with in our future.

Poster: Lea Cox
Caption: I think that (9/11) benefited the Bush Administration and brought increasing power to both Christian and Muslim religious fundementalists and loss of freedom to Americans. Even more disturbing than censorship of the arts is censorship of science, which is extremely dangerous to the natural environment. The Bush Administration has no qualms about changing scientific data to meets its agenda.

Poster: Elizabeth Lyon
Caption: In my mind, one of the greatest effects of 9/11 was confirming to the rest of the world what they suspected was true of America, as reflected in the action of our leadership: that we'll go outside the bounds of moral conduct to maintain isolationism; that materialism is a higher value than human life; and control over moral and religious language means control over a people that would ordinarily react with the highest level of natural wisdom and compassion.

Poster: Ramji Lall
Caption: Very interesting and refreshing thought process that Salman Rushdie has brought to this show.We need many more people like him in the public space.

Poster: Jill S. Spooner
Caption: I keep thinking about your comment that the U.S. was pretty much isolated before. I would have never thought of it that way, but after considering the point, it seems you are quite right. Before we did not understand how U.S. foreign policy could so greatly impact and anger other nations and know we do understand. I believe the populace has become more sensitive to these issues and more compassionate to the view of others as a result.

Poster: sam Mookherjea
Caption: Watched Salman R's interview. Interesting but Salman is biased. He carefully redefined 911 which was a horrific thing.

Poster: s Mookerjea
Caption: 911 was a horrfic thing of religious intolerance. Salman well knows what Islam is, yet he equated islamic fundumentalism with IRA and Hindu radicalism and quoted incidents in Gujrat. Unfortunately statistics shows Islam has killed more than 100 million people including almost 60 mil Hindus and rest Christians and jews. Millions got killed in Bangla desh and are still getting killed. 911 has happened in India for 1000 years. Yet he as an intellectual aethist did not see any of these and was trying to equate Islamic fundumentalism with other types of very minor reactions to Islam. I guess the Fatawa had an effect on his intelletual honesty!!

Poster: Faye krause PhDc
Caption: How refreshing to see Bill Moyers back on PBS engaging in essential topics. I agree with Mr. Rushdie, that 9/11 was a critical event for the world,while for a long time I was hoping that it was not. Thanks to Mr. Rushdie for his thoughtful, yet respectful dialogue. If not for people like Mr. Moyers and Mr. Rushdie, I would hate to think where we would be headed. Thanks for carrying the flag for reasonableness and understanding. The Pew report on western muslim understandings regarding each other,just made public this week concluded virtually the same thing.

Poster: Faye Krause
Caption: I appreciate the reasoned and thoughtful programming you provide, mr. Moyers. Thanks to PBS for bringing you back. Perhaps we won't revert to the dark ages after all.

Poster: Bill
Caption: Very much so....

Poster: Kelvin Fisher
Caption: Not only can we not disengage, but we are an integral part of all life. More and more we understand the religion of the Native Americans in which we are but a strand of a WEB which contains all things. This includes not only humans but animals, the earth, water, the sky, the cosmos, all things. Too many times we acknowledge the presence of a divine spirit, when it is the human spirit that prevails.

Poster: Sue Morrow Flanagan
Caption: Yes, it was a hinge moment in that it transformed American consciousness forever. Yet, as New Yorkers waited for the wounded, when you looked at the countless faces at every triage center those faces came from every nation in the world. We were simply not aware yet of how precious those bonds could be in the face of a future reshaped by terrorism and religious fascism. Certainly, the struggle of the coming century will be between secular government and religious power structures.

Poster: Jennifer
Caption: We were always inescapably involved with each other . . .the United States was just in denial of that simple fact. Really, I think the current administration demonstrates, daily. that it is still in denial of that fact. How many more 9/11's do we need before our officials--and those who elected them out of fear--get it?

Poster: Scott Thomson
Caption: very true. It is also true that this engagement is only possible through the trappings of an open, modern society; telecommunications, and most importantly the media.

Poster: Venna Murray
Caption: Engaging isn't easy. It is difficult to listen to others and get them to listen to us. When our beliefs are challenged we often fall into a state of irrational fear. Perhaps we all need to start by understanding why we believe what we believe.

Poster: Elizabeth Winton
Caption: Mr. Rushdie's interview was most uplifting, encouraging to see him free. (9/11 was the shock to the free world that, at the end of a long 2000 year cycle of religion, we are still recycling old memories of domination. America is the only nation not built on race and religious memory, the only nation whose constitution is based on the freedom of the individual. The goal of man's evolution is to free the human spirit- his own, while showing respect and generosity for that of others. What has religion done to exemplify that?

Poster: Curtis Watson
Caption: Is Salman Rushdie in a rush to die? Really my question is: How did he get himself off of the death threat hit list? Email your answer to: andreus1983@yahoo.com

Poster: el_xo
Caption: EPIPHANY We were created by this universe. This universe is our creator, or at least a tool of our creation. This planet was placed here in this galaxy to give birth to life and this life is an extension of the universe and it is our innate nature that drives us to find our creator. This is my epiphany el_xo

Poster: Don Jacobs
Caption: Mr Rushdie suggested that our deeper sense of right and wrong precedes religion. I agree with him. My own answer is called light-dark theology, detailed at www.light-dark.info I consider this to be the common denominator for all belief systems, including atheism. The overall interview was most enjoyable.

Poster: Ryan Jense
Caption: I have always been a person that has questioned my world, possibly to a fault. I have also been reluctant to accept the answers that I have been given about the organizations we call religion. My thoughts tend to align with Mr. Rushdie and others such as Sam Harris in his recent book, End of Faith. A prolonged history of worship has resulted in human greatness, but also many unspeakable horrific acts. Most recently, I believe the latter has come to drown out it's ability for greatness. A modern unquestioned devotion to ancient texts that purport to be the word of God, is no longer an acceptable social discourse. We need to engage in reason and disengage from faith without question. The world has become to small to accept unproven or untestable tenets.

Poster: Linda Walker
Caption: 9/11 may have been a hinge event in the conciousness of America, but our defensive aggression in response has been viewed by the rest of the world as further evidence of our own intolerance. We ignore the dominance of the Taliban in Afgahnistan in favor of seizing the oil fields of Iran. When will we recognise the value of our Christian teachings that if we feed the hungry, heal the sick, visit those in prison and share from our abundance not only in the US, but in all the world than God's kingdom will be seen by all. Bush espouses a theology of glory that uses the US as a model for Christian ideology rather than acting from the theology of the cross that seeks to form a global community out of our needs and weaknesses.

Poster: J.Miskell
Caption: 9/11 is just a smidgeon dot of a much bigger picture; not only are we all inextricably linked between nations, cultures, religions, economics and politics (and this list could go on), but also we our inextricably linked by this most precious planet we reside on – ultimately, we are all one. Mr. Rushdie is correct in his assessment, and I look forward to his next novel.

Poster: Joel Baier
Caption: With this new vision of oneness we must now heal a a whole or disentegrate apart

Poster: HL
Caption: 9/11 was a criminal act not justication for war as politicians are using it for corrupt special interest profiteering and to help bring about an evil new world order government. The Islam religion is being blamed in order to destroy it, Christianity may well be next because religions are an obtacle to an evil new world order government and the evil people behind the evil know that so religions must be destroyed and replaced with worldly worship of things. Evil people now control most major governments, that is a provable fact of truth which can be demonstrated by a simple infalible verbal TEST from God. The tester will most likely be crucified for revealing that truth which must be denied by evil people.

Poster: Patricia Ranney
Caption: To add to my previous comment, I want to thank Bill Moyers and all of the guests so far for raising awareness to the importance of faith and reason. It's critical in today's world.

Poster: LD
Caption: To a certain extent 9/11 occurred because a spiritual path was pursued in the absence of reason.

Poster: Paul Klismith
Caption: I agree. Unfortunately the child inside us responded to the door opening on a reality we were blind to, by slamming that door with angered, self-righteous indignation--then sprinting militantly down a dark and dangerous hall. Most of the world looks more objectively at the maze of our harsh turns (under the Bush administration) and holds their breath, hopiing that we'll learn the true lesson of 9/11 before the walls all crumble.

Poster: B.L. Jean
Caption: Yes, 9/11 woke us up to the reality that we are part of a violent world -- and maybe we learned that we may have caused the hatred behind the violence by our long-term foreign policy that has not lived up to its PR statements. We need to somehow observe what our CIA, FBI and State Dept. are actually doing instead of what they say they're doing. All secrets are dangerous. Our positive outreach and genuine assistance probably ended with the Marshall Plan. (I did not see the interview with Mr. Rushdie.)

Poster: bible trained!
Caption: lets say if all man obeyed the bible,there would not be greed,violence,power hungry people!as to what is happening today,again read your bible,it is all prophecy and gods will can not be undone!to all the people who contridict the word(bible),what have you ever prooving or accomplished but lead man to his injury for your stubborness to submit to god almighty.you did not get here by a big bang theory/lol...we have a owners manual to life,the holy bible.,try truly learning it for what it really says.

Poster: Don Murray
Caption: Engagement is not an on or off process. It occurs at many levels and depths. If the results are extreme violence, then we should examine the level and depth of our engagement. It may be better to back off and wait until the slow, but persistent, march of progress changes the conditions. Why are there other powerful non-Islamic countries that are not the focus of religious extremist? Maybe because they are not as engaged in Middle East affairs as much as America.

Poster: LFC
Caption: I so very much agree with his interview and was so thankful I was able to hear it. We need to listen to what he knows and reason what is best for our country..I am very concerned about where our country is headed, just as he stated.

Poster: William Switzer
Caption: Bravo - it also shows how vulnerable we are to belief systems that are based on faith.

Poster: John Wilkman
Caption: Salman Rushdie is an ideal human being because he in fact represents true human values. They are based in freedom to be what one is called to be from one's own experience and growth as a human being. Liberty constrained by the gold rule is the true basis of morality and it proceeds religion. Thank you, Salman for your courage!