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Letter: Cyberwar is about dividing us; let’s confront it with a unified response

(Susan Walsh | The Associated Press)In this Feb. 14, 2018, photo, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin testifies before the Senate Finance Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Trump administration on Thursday imposed sanctions on 19 Russians for alleged interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, including 13 indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller as part of his Russia-related investigation. The Treasury Department announced the sanctions amid withering criticism of Trump and his administration for failing to use the congressionally mandated authority to punish Russia for the election interference. Trump himself has been skeptical of the allegations.

When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, the Americans responded with horror, then commitment, followed by action. Every American was involved in the war effort in some way, through joining the military, covering the civilian positions of those who did, and converting factories and services to support the war effort.

Our generation has experienced its Pearl Harbor in the Russian cyberattack on the 2016 elections. What is the American response to this attack? Congress has proposed a timid response of economic sanctions. President Donald Trump instead held the white surrender flag high and waved it broadly. The American public so far has failed to notice, or worse, responded with, “Yeah, we’re OK with that.” Are you? If not, speak up.

Americans have understood since the Revolutionary War that “United we stand. Divided we fall.” Cyberwar is about dividing us. During World War II, there were public announcements about how to identify and avoid unexploded munitions. In a cyberwar we need to learn to identify social media posts that are divisive munitions and defuse them with compassion, reason and friendship. Identify a sweet-smelling poison post for what it is and don’t spread it like a gas cloud expanding through the cybersphere.

Dan Cortsen, Sandy