911, A Call To Arms

Personal ^ | 09-12-01 | Daniel Ingham

[PsyOp]

911 - A Call To Arms.

September 11, 2001, is a day that will live in infamy. Less than 48 hours after the worst terrorist attack in history, it almost seems cliched to say it. Not because it isn’t true. Not because it was said of another attack nearly 60 years ago. But, because it fails to fully convey the enormity of the assault. It fails to adequately count the horrors we witnessed that day. And it fails to express the full measure of outrage every American now feels burning in their chest. It was a day of enormous infamy, horror and outrage.

Nine, One, One. The date itself is symbolic. The nation that is often referred to as the world’s policeman has received the ultimate emergency call, only find itself the victim. The call is one that no one can mistake. It is a call for all Americans to stop bickering among themselves and band together. It is a call for all Americans to aid those most immediately affected by this tragedy. And if we are smart, it is a Call to Arms. It is time for the world’s policeman to get serious. It is time to recognize that there are criminals so heinous, so disturbed, and so malignant, that they require the resources of an entire nation to apprehend. If we do not, America will cease to be the beacon of hope and inspiration that the world’s oppressed have turned to for over 200 years.

Talking to my eight-year-old son later that day, he told me all about what had happened. He talked about the big jets that had crashed and about the other scary things he had heard at school that day. He said that he didn’t want to go on any airplanes. He was afraid. Safe and sound on the other side of the country, he too, is a casualty. His innocent wonder of big jets is now a lingering fear for reasons he cannot fully understand. That is the aim of terrorism. That is why we must find the animals that did this and make sure they never do it again. The punishment must be so swift, so terrible, and so certain, that none will ever again consider using terrorism without feeling fear and trepidation of their own.

If American’s lock their doors and hide in their homes - Evil wins. If we empty our bank accounts and stuff our matresses - Evil wins. If we slam our borders shut and douse Lady Liberty’s flame - Evil Wins. If little children fear to fly - Evil wins. Evil must not be allowed to win. America must square its shoulders and answer the call once more.

9-11 witnessed the single greatest loss of American lives, in a single day, since the epic battles of the American Civil War. But even the most terrible battle of that war pales in comparison to the carnage just inflicted. For they were soldiers fighting bravely for what they believed in. Yesterday’s dead were innocent men, women and children - slaughtered in an act of mindless mass-murder, by cowards.

If those responsible for this attack had studied history with the same diligence they applied to making it, they might not have gone through with their plans. If they had studied, they would know that the American spirit is not a thing race, religion, ethnicity or geographical origin. It springs from the unshakable human desire for freedom and liberty. They would know that even though we Americans often appear weak, apathetic, fractious and buried within our individual concerns, there is one common thread that always binds us together in times of crisis - we will not be dictated to by kings, tyrants or even terrorists. We will not be pushed around. They would know that, while we are often slow to anger, once roused, our wrath in war is as great as our generosity in peace.

At the time of our entry into the Second World War, author D.W. Brogan wrote in The American Character,

“For Americans war is almost all of the time a nuisance, and military skill a luxury like Mah-Jongg. But when the issue is brought home to them, war becomes as important, for the necessary period, as business or sport. And it is hard to decide which is likely to be the more ominous for the Axis – an American decision that this is sport, or that this is business.”

The issue has been brought home to us once again. We have been attacked. We are at war. Military skill is no longer a peace-dividend luxury. The enemy knows no borders, no restraint, no rules of engagement. We must answer this call to arms - each of us - by whatever means we have at our disposal.

Those that declared this war on America must now worry about how we will approach this task - as business or as sport. If they had ever bothered to watch Monday Night Football, or read the Wall Street Journal, they would know to be scared whichever course we choose.

As for me, I think its time for the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan to put to sea and win one for the Gipper.

[PsyOp]

This is a repost from last night.