United 93 Unites Us Again
By J. James Estrada (05/05/06)
I attended a showing of United 93 at a theatre in Mesa, Arizona. The movie, about the hijacked plane that crashed in Pennsylvania on 9/11, was shown in the largest theatre available. However, the place wasn’t even half full. It seems that the comedy RV was the number one box office draw of the weekend.
That’s a shame. Every American was affected by the deadly terrorist acts of that day. Now, four years later, some are desperate to forget all about it. Feeling it would be too painful to relive the events which signaled a new and dangerous world, many stayed away. I call those people cowards.
The bravery that is recorded in this movie compares with the bravery seen on battlefields that stretch from the beaches of Normandy to the islands of the Pacific. This was, in fact, the first battle of the War on Radical Islam/Terrorism. Those passengers who fought back deserve our utmost respect and admiration. We don’t give civilians medals, but we can give them our time. Is two hours to long to sit an honor human excellence? Will your pain and grief equal theirs? It’s an insult to their memories for anyone to say that “it’s too soon” or “the sadness would be too much to bear.” These attitudes come from selfishness and, in fact, laziness.
Today the battle continues through the fine men and women of the U.S. Armed Services. What was begun by innocent bystanders, in the face of heinous acts on the part of depraved lunatics, is being carried out by exceptionally trained and dedicated individuals.
I couldn’t help but think of Pat Tillman as United 93 concluded. What do you do with the emotions you feel at a time like that? Most in the theatre, after a long pause of silence, began to clap. The film itself was well done as filmcraft, but the applause was for the action carried out by our neighbors on that flight in the skies of the state that gave us our Constitution. Tillman knew that that Constitution, that way of life, needed to be defended.
Tillman saw the enemy and was not adverse to face it. Unfortunately, that is not the case with many in the citizenry; and, sadly, not the case with many in leadership. When a senator or congressman calls for a withdrawal of troops before the work is done, he is spitting in the face of heroes; from Todd Beamer, and the others on United 93, to Tillman and all the fallen military.
Tillman met an unfortunate end in that his death was caused by friendly fire. But the fire within his heart can never be doused. So too, the fire in the souls of those who lost their lives on United 93 cannot be thrown to the wind and extinguished.
Get off your sofas and make the time to honor these people. Thank God for this, your nation; it stands because of those who gave not only their time, but their lives.
J. James Estrada
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