So, today is always a dark day in my memory. The loss of over two thousand citizens on what had been a beautiful Tuesday morning and afternoon came as a complete shock to me. Eight years ago I ceased being the innocent, always-optimistic little child and began my long, still-unfinished trek to becoming a full adult. That day managed to do what teachers, friends, and family members had, up until that point, been unable to do. I began to acquire a cynical twist to my humor, which was often a tad on the darkside. Yet, for all the negative aspects brought out that day, all was not lost in me. I began to see the world for what it was; a dangerous and untrusting place; a place where only the self-reliant, rugged, and Machiavellian survive. On September 11th, 2001, I lost no aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, nor parents, yet the sense of loss is no less severe. I remind myself each and every day of the loss we have sustained, of the generations that shall never be because of the evil in the world.
On September 10th we made a grievous mistake in underestimating our enemy, and today I fear we've returned to that state of mind. Some of us, especially those in government, or those on the left, have forgotten that our enemy has cells all across the world. These cells are led by patient, scheming, and meticulous organizers. They will wait one, two, five, ten, even twenty years before they make their strike, because when they -do- attack, they want to inflict as much damage as possible. I'm amazed at how many people think that if we retreat in the face of terrorism, that our problems and our vulnerability will disappear with the rising death toll. How ignorant can you be? The only way to safeguard our nation from insidious foes such like these Islamic terrorists is through eternal vigilance. Former President Bush, think what you will of him personally, understood the character of the enemy in which we face. They were called, "The Axis of Evil." And he was quoted, rather famously, as saying, "You are either with us, or you are with the terrorists." It's a shame, then, that the United States and other such "allies" were still funding tyrannical dictators in Saudi Arabia and other post-colonial jurisdictions. That aside, and that's a big aside, he understood that what we must battle against is evil.
The academic's response was one of disdain and of condescension. Liberals and the elite mocked this cowboy aristocrat for being a simpleton. Yet, eight years on it seems that a vast majority of Americans don't even feel as though we are in two wars and battling against entrenched terrorist forces. On the whole we are a people who can no longer conceive sticking out the long, brutal fight, and I fear that Vietnam, rather than being the exception, will be the model for America's future foreign policy. I can only pray that I am wrong.
We have entered into a culture that has permeated our society since the fall of the Soviet Union: A Culture of Passivity.The only ray of hope are those people who are like the passengers of Flight 93. As Mark Steyn illustrates quite vividly, they were not passive.
Steyn wrote this article shortly after the events of 9/11, and regardless of the political persuasion you possess, I hope you will agree with me when I say that this is one of the best written articles on the tragic, murderous events of that day.
Link: http://www.steynonline.com/content/view/2424/30/
