I'd Like To Say...
By Thomas Lindaman (09/11/08)
I’d like to say that on the seventh anniversary of the September 11th tragedy that America understands the gravity of the war on terrorism and is fully behind us winning it.
I’d like to say that the dissenting voices are nearly universally disregarded as cranks and fools.
I’d like to say that our politicians in Washington are intent on winning the war on terrorism and will not stand in the way of our troops fighting to keep us safe.
I’d like to say that President Bush will be lionized in history as being the President who took on the terrorist threat head on and set the world on a course of peace and freedom.
I’d like to say that we’ve finally gotten tough on security and put the best-trained people in airports, the best security regulations in place, and the borders to our north and south tightened.
I’d like to say all of these, but in all honesty, I can’t.
As we observe the seventh anniversary of the most devastating attack on American soil, I’m sorry to say that most of America has hit the geopolitical snooze bar, rolled back over, and went back into a blissful sleep. The same blissful sleep we enjoyed on September 10th.
It shouldn’t be like this, folks. We’re better than that. Where are the people rolling up their sleeves to help, whether it be moving rubble in an attempt to find survivors at Ground Zero or people giving blood just so they can feel like they’re helping in some way? Where are the politicians putting aside the usual Democrat vs. Republican claptrap and working together to secure our country as a true United States of America? Where are the people who proudly wear their red, white, and blue ribbons or flag pins with the words “God Bless America” on them?
Most of them are little more than dreamlike images being obscured by the haze of time and “more important things.”
Seven years after the fact, I’m shocked that we’ve become so complacent, so soft, so unconcerned about international terrorism. Sure, the economy could be better and we’re having to stretch our dollars a little more. Sure, the Earth’s temperature is unpredictable and we’re not sure whether we’re causing it. Sure, we have a Presidential election coming up where we have to decide on who will lead us into the next 4 years. There are a lot of oh-so-important things that can muscle their ways to the front of our minds.
But what happens to those oh-so-important things if we lose the war on terrorism?
That’s a question we don’t often consider in our daily lives, but we should. What happens if the good guys don’t win this time? How will we cope? Will we enjoy even an iota of the freedoms we take for granted today?
I’m sure some reading this will dismiss it as a right wing screed designed to invoke fear in people’s minds and hearts so they will vote Republican. But that’s not my intent by any stretch of the imagination. The war on terrorism has become such a political football that it’s impossible to discuss it intelligently on any level without someone trying to categorize it ideologically. Folks, my message here, I hope, transcends left-right, red-blue, Republican-Democrat, and liberal-conservative argumentation.
We need to get serious about the war on terrorism. What we always seem to miss is the fact that al Qaeda is only one tentacle of the hydra. Cutting it off won’t stop Islamic Brotherhood or Hamas or any other group from picking up where al Qaeda left off. Capturing or killing Osama Bin Laden won’t make the leaders of terrorist-sympathizing countries like Iran, Syria, and North Korea play nice. Negotiation in this case is not a realistic option because there’s no reason for terrorist groups to deal honestly with us. We have to be willing to fight for as long as it takes because I guarantee the terrorists already are willing to fight for as long as it takes.
I would like to say that September 11, 2008, was a day when people took a moment out of their days not just to pay tribute to the fallen, but also to think about why winning the war on terrorism is so important to us and future generations.
Please, don’t make a liar out of me.
Thomas Lindaman
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