Sept 09, 2007 - Thoughts from a rambling mind
I am not an editorialist, nor am I a pundit, or even, for that matter, a writer.
However, what I am is American, and as such, I still remember that day 6 years ago when I, like 99% of Americans, sat glued to my television and became enraged over what unfolded.
I watched while my America was attacked in an unspeakable and cowardly manner.
I watched, as the world watched, as we were attacked by a group of people with an axe to grind. Extremists, who, for whatever reason, decided to commit murder.
On 9/11/2001 Americans flew flags and became the single most patriotic country the world has ever seen. By 9/12/2001 , almost every home in America was showing how patriotic we were. We were a country United. There were flags on cars, on trees, in windows, on doors, even up flag poles. The biggest flags ever made, were flown on that day and subsequent days.
Men and women became patriotic and enlisted in the services in the highest enlistment numbers the country as seen since WWII. Professionals gave up careers, football players gave up lucrative contracts, ordinary men and women went to their recruiting offices and said “Where do I sign?” This became the mantra for thousands.
Workers spent hours upon hours cleaning up the debris from the fallen towers, the fields in Pennsylvania and The Pentagon. Most of them are now very ill for their efforts, but ask any one of them if they would do it again…
In fact ask any one of the service people if they would enlist again. I can assure you that 99% of both groups would. They wouldn’t change a thing.
Ask the families of those that died after enlisting if they would talk their son or daughter out of what they believed in. 99% of those wouldn’t do anything either.
These are ALL, without exception, our heroes.
My problem now is that America and her citizens have once again become complacent.
I am no different. My days turn into nights the same way they always have. Life goes on.
I watch the news and now when the lead story says, “And now from Iraq ” I turn the channel. Why? Because I am sick of the “if it bleeds, it leads” mentality of the news organizations.
If, according to them, we are to believe everything that comes out of Iraq is death, mayhem and destruction, then the news never changes. The views never change. We never see the humanitarian effort. So I quit watching. I became complacent, or maybe this is my form of rebellion against the American news media. I change the channel.
A couple of years ago, there was a campaign to fly the flag on 9/11. It was largely an e-mail campaign so in reality it probably didn’t reach the masses. It was never publicized in the media so mainstream Americans didn’t see it.
However, one has to wonder if the news outlets did tell us about it, would we once again show our remembrances by flying a flag. Would we once again become one United States of America
The bottom line in all of this is that we, collectively, have pushed to the back of our minds, why the world is the way it is today. It’s not about a war, although if you listened to the commentaries, you would think we went in to Iraq with no provocation what-so-ever. You never hear that this is an action vs reaction situation. This is what it is - a consequence.
Of course, you didn’t forget, and I like all of you, can and will always be able to recollect from that day, where, when and what I was doing, whatever it was I was doing, when I first heard the news. However, I think it is a huge disservice to the memory of those who died on that day, and an even bigger disservice to not honor those who have died fighting for our rights to never have it happen again.
Do you even remember that day?
Do you remember the emotions you felt while watching on television, the towers fall, the field on fire, the hole in the Pentagon??
Do you really remember that emotion??
Where is it now??
Why aren’t you as patriotic today as you were that day and the days that followed???
Where is your flag??
Where are your tears?
Where is your anger?
How will you feel when it happens again? (Notice I said “when” and not “If”.)
Will you once again fly your flags and make your speeches.
Will you still say, “We don’t need troops in harms way”.
Or will you say, “Mr. President, you didn’t do enough”
I don’t ask you to say you are for or against the war. I just want you to remember the emotions you felt on September 11, 2001 .
Then ask yourself if you want it to happen again
