Four Years Ago Today

I was running a little late that morning, and we hadn't turned on the news like we normally did. So when I got in the car and turned on the radio, I heard for the first time that our country was under attack. Since we're three hours behind the East Coast, it had been some time since the planes hit the World Trade Center. I called Brenda and told her to turn on the TV. She said, "Which channel?" and I replied, "It doesn't matter." I turned around and drove back home, arriving just before the first tower collapsed.

We sat in shock and horror as the news unfolded before our eyes. I remember talking to my dad about Pearl Harbor. He was at church on Sunday evening when the news of the attack was announced. One of his cousins was engaged to be married, and her fiancee was stationed at Pearl Harbor. They later learned he had been killed on that awful day. Those two days stand alone in our nation's history.

There are many lessons to be drawn from 9/11. I want to focus on just one. There are people in this world who want to kill us. They do not shrink from violence against innnocents, and they do not value life--including their own. They hate America and Americans. Hiding our heads in the sand will not make them go away. Ben Franklin wanted the turkey to be our national bird rather than the eagle. Fortunately he lost that argument! But either of those is better than the ostrich. We cannot afford to lose sight of this crucial fact.

UPDATE: Because of the media's refusal to use the actual images (can't stir up people's emotions after all), our memories tend to dim with the passage of time. I found this incredibly moving "27,000 word essay" (it won't take that long to read)...it's worth a look just to be reminded of what and why we are fighting.