In the aftermath of the attacks of September 11, 2001, how many people would be happy to lay some of the blame on the United States and extend the hand of peace to the Arabs and Muslims? While most Americans were ready to take up arms and exact revenge for the blatant injustice perpetrated against the United States, Naomi Shihab Nye courageously stood against popular opinion and advocated for the need for peace and not more violence. During such an emotionally charged time, Nye does well to use that emotion for his own purposes, which is part of why his argumentative essay, To All the Would-be Terrorists, works effectively as a whole. She also does an excellent job of using her unique heritage and perspective to establish a strong sense of credibility, which helps deepen her argument. However, his essay fails to demonstrate the feasibility of the solution, in addition to suffering from a publication period that had a rather poor sense of timing. Perhaps one of the greatest strengths of Nye's essay is ironically not found in his essay, but rather in his personal life. As a writer of Palestinian-American descent, she stands out as uniquely suited to present a perspective that does not often appear in American literature. She grew up in Jerusalem in the 1970s; the city at the center of countless culture wars over the centuries (317). As a result, Nye possesses an understanding of the intricacies of conflict between cultures to an extent that exceeds that of a clear majority of contemporary writers. Because she spent many of her formative years in such a turbulent region, she also has significant experience with the violence that can occur when two cultures fail to reconcile their differences. This makes her a unique... middle of paper ... vents, a plea for peace would most likely fall on deaf ears. Only recently, after a measurable amount of time, has Nye's argument begun to have a significant effect on his audience. As can be seen, Nye combines many elements of logical argumentation in order to construct an effective essay. When you finish reading the work, you almost have the impression that Nye has left the reader with a feeling of optimism. Although she simplifies the problem slightly, this fact can be ignored, because her main goal in this essay is to convince her audience that the possibility of peace certainly exists; we all need to work at it a little harder. If everyone actually “finds another way to live,” one in which people act more kindly and caringly toward each other, then perhaps we could finally have some peace. (321).