Seven Years Later

Tonight, I found myself glued to the television set once again. It was little different than that fateful morning of September 11, 2001. This time however, the History Channel provided the real time images of jetliners crashing into the World Trade center buildings, one after the other. The scenes were all too real, and I was transfixed as the destruction unfolded before my eyes. The visceral reactions were exactly as they were on that day. Tonight though, there was something more, something which only amplified the feelings of the moment: seven years of subsequent history.

People fleeing the carnage, ran toward the many cameras recording the event. First responders, police, and firemen, were all running in the opposite direction, toward the unfolding conflagration. Screams, shouting, moans of disbelief, each in turn served to describe what was to become the single worst attack on mainland America, ever. In America's worst disaster inflicted by unseen enemies, the very finest of American ideals came to the fore. Servants charged with preserving the public safety, did just that. Given the hellish circumstances, one can only look with pride upon these individuals, and their commitment to others unknown to them.

I recall feelings of awestruck wonder, and shortly thereafter, a rage building within me as we were told that Islamic extremists had carried out this attack at the heart of America's might, our financial center in New York City. In passing days, more details emerged, and the picture became clearer. President Bush acted with determination, and with resolve. There was an enemy to be defeated, an enemy to be punished for the murder of almost three thousand of our neighbors. The passing years have been testimony to that determination, and to that resolve.

It was said by supporters of former president Bill Clinton, that if only this had happened on his watch, a legacy might have been born. Not long after, it was Senator Jay Rockefeller who drafted a memo detailiing that there was political "cash"to be gleaned by attacking President Bush on his handling of the war against terrorism. Through the ensuing years, Democrats have held tenaciously to that disgustingly unpatriotic tenet, and today, they have effectively painted themselves into a corner of no return. Their congressional displays of arguing for the rights of terrorists, and their false condemnation of procedures that would safeguard the lives of ordinary Americans has been despicable, and deplorable.

Todd Beamer's call of,"Let's roll!"became a rallying cry for decent, and patriotic citizens everywhere. After democrat Caucus meetings, "Let's Roll!" took on a different meaning altogether. From Senator Harry Reid's assertive pronouncement that "the war is lost.", to the calls to "bring home the troops!", to the idiotic statements by Representative John Murtha, claiming that American service people were killing innocent civilians, none of these reflect a supportive cast of politicians for the aims of a wounded America to simply defend herself.

Somewhere in this curious mix, there are a handful of so-called Republicans. They too, deserve the enmity they have earned. If absolute power is that important, then let's hope they never gain that power; only our undying opposition to their aims, and selfish goals.

Yes, 9-11, 2008 has been a day of sober reflection. It brings into sharper focus, the importance of this year's presidential election. Do we want a man who is prepared to lead the world stage, or a man who is content to lead America only, on a smaller, but more important stage. The choice is not that complex, in fact, it is relatively simple, wouldn't you say?