In response to Joe Kastner's thoughts from his Viewpoint on Sept. 12, I am inclined to resoundingly disagree with his views.

The problem with our world is that we do racially profile, we do psychologically profile people. Can we no longer trust people to be good people? Discriminating based upon religion was one reason why this country was founded (see the Puritans, Pilgrims, First Amendment). Not letting someone on a plane because he or she is Arab or Muslim will not stop terrorism, as Mr. Kastner seems to believe.

What this will do, however, is bring the United States back to a place from its past that it has sworn never to return. Judging an entire group of people based on the actions of a few gets us nowhere, and it is not worth being safe if we have to sell our souls in the process.

We are indeed fighting a form of extremism, a form of extremism that is rejected by mainstream Muslims. Answering extremism with extremism will get us nowhere.

As we all know, Gandhi said, "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." We must work our differences out before resorting to name-calling and religious (or any other kind of) profiling, much less violence. It is shocking to hear such callous language from a person who claims to love America. Creating a free and safe world is everyone's goal. Resorting to Mr. Kastner's views shows his fear, lack of thought and downright ignorance.

We must work for harmony amongst all people, including ourselves. This comes through peace and thoughtful discussion. Name-calling and the Jim Crow-era tactics of Mr. Kastner's will attain nothing more than more violence, hatred, misunderstanding and ignorance.

McDonald is a senior in the College of Communication.