Posted on 07/01/2002 5:11:44 AM PDT by JohnHuang2
The "you-know-what" hit the fan when the 9th District Court of Appeals ruled the Pledge of Allegiance was unconstitutional.
Two "bad" words: "under God."
Remember when #%$@ and #*!#%$ and even & %#$# were considered too rude for polite society? Things have changed. Now there's no such thing as rude – and there's not much polite society left.
Anything goes, except "under God" in a pledge by children in their classrooms to honor their country and the people who fought and died to keep them safe and free.
There was a warning last week from the FBI to people in Jewish neighborhoods to be aware of the possibility of terrorism against homes, businesses and synagogues – the weapon of choice possibly being oil-tanker trucks. Not a pleasant thought.
Then on Sunday morning, I was sitting in church, listening to the service when my mind wandered. I started thinking – here I am in this room with several hundred people, worshipping in the church of our choice – and I'll bet there isn't one person in this church who was thinking, "Gee, I wonder what would happen if a bomb went off in here now." I was probably the only one, and the thought was frightening.
At that moment, it occurred to me how terribly brave the Israeli's are. They never know – when they go to temple, to a coffee shop or restaurant, to the mall, get on a bus, drive down the street, go shopping or even when they sit in their own house or sleep in their own bed – they never know whether that moment might be their last, courtesy of a terrorist.
We don't think that way. We get a warning – apartment houses, bridges, airplanes, nuclear reactors, tanker trucks, ships, scuba divers, dive shops – anything is possible. But, be honest now, in your day-to-day, going from here-to-there since Sept. 11, have you ever really thought about, "Gee I wonder if?" Probably not.
And, I realized again how blessed we are in this country and how lucky we are. I realized how outrageous it is for anyone in this country (or anywhere else, for that matter) to criticize the Israelis for doing something to protect their own people because they're at the mercy of fanatics. I won't call the terrorists crazy, because they're not. They're crazy like a fox. Those terrorists are fanatics who will do anything to support their hatreds.
I have never put myself in the place of an Israeli while I go through my average day, and I'll bet you haven't either. How would your life be different if you did? If you had to worry whether your child would come home from school? Or your husband from work? Or your family from church? Or you, from the library?
Think about it. You might not be so blasé about our freedoms and you might not be so ready to criticize the U.S. We have the freedoms we do because so many others fought and died to protect them over the years. They made our safety possible.
It was the vision of the Founding Fathers that resulted in our form of government that guarantees freedom and equality to all citizens. It's an innate freedom and equality. It comes with our humanity. No one gives them to us, for, if they did, they could also take them away. That's been tried … and millions of our young people have bled and died to make certain they didn't succeed. Our military preserves our freedom. Your freedom. My freedom. Freedom for our children.
The tidal wave of patriotism that swept the country after 9-11 was because our complacency was shattered. We were free. We thought we were safe. Then, on that clear morning, we felt what Israeli's feel every time a terrorist bomb explodes – stark terror and anger. We said, "No more!" – just as they do. And we fought to find the terrorists – just as they do. And there isn't a thing wrong with that.
That's why the wave of revulsion over the court decision to ban the Pledge was instantaneous and widespread. That the court would so rule barely a week before Independence Day was more than a back-of-the-hand to our heritage. It was a finger in the eye of every American who has worn a uniform for our freedom.
I wonder if those judges feel shame?
Only one feels shame and it is not for his actions but for the actions of the other two.
Only one feels shame and it is not for his actions but for the actions of the other two
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