My story of intrigue shows, above all, that frustrated spiritual aspirations that drive people to extreme acts such as espionage and terrorism. My father and Ted Hall sought in Communism, with its dramatic simplicity, a spirituality that they could not find amid the commercial and technocratic agendas that appear to dominate American society. That ideology promised them in place, in the cosmos and in society, something they were otherwise unable to find. The solution to our problems is not simply to return to any religious orthodoxies or secular traditions, at least not if that is done in an unreflective way. The solution is most especially not the absurd, but absurdly persistent, delusion that war provides a sort of spiritual cleansing by forcing people to live by more exalted values. As a first step, we might incorporate the awareness of mortality into our daily routines, though meditation or through prayer. If we are to succeed in placing terrorism under control, we must offer people more to live for than an endless succession of consumer goods and entertainments. In the absence of authentic spirituality, people will confuse holiness with terror and devotion with death.

From Stealing Fire: A Childhood in the Shadow of Atomic Espionage