DO NOT FORGET -- A different perspective on 9/11 remembrance

Author is listed at the end. I received this by email and am trying to disseminate it.

[KentT]

DO NOT FORGET

I sat in a movie theater watching "Schindler's List," asked myself, "Why didn't the Jews fight back?"

Now I know why.

I sat in a movie theater, watching "Pearl Harbor" and asked myself, "Why weren't we prepared?"

Now I know why.

Civilized people cannot fathom, much less predict, the actions of evil people.

On September 11, dozens of capable airplane passengers allowed themselves to be overpowered by a handful of poorly armed terrorists because they did not comprehend the depth of hatred that motivated their captors.

On September 11, thousands of innocent people were murdered because too many Americans naively reject the reality that some nations are dedicated to the dominance of others. Many political pundits, pacifists and media personnel want us to forget the carnage. They say we must focus on the bravery of the rescuers and ignore the cowardice of the killers. They implore us to understand the motivation of the perpetrators. Major television stations have announced they will assist the healing process by not replaying devastating footage of the planes crashing into the Twin Towers.

I will not be manipulated.

I will not pretend to understand.

I will not forget.

I will not forget the liberal media who abused freedom of the press to kick our country when it was vulnerable and hurting.

I will not forget that CBS anchor Dan Rather preceded President Bush's address to the nation with the snide remark, "No matter how you feel about him, he is still our president."

I will not forget that ABC TV anchor Peter Jennings questioned President Bush's motives for not returning immediately to Washington, DC and commented, "We're all pretty skeptical and cynical about Washington."

And I will not forget that ABC's Mark Halperin warned if reporters weren't informed of every little detail of this war, they aren't "likely -- nor should they be expected -- to show deference."

I will not isolate myself from my fellow Americans by pretending an attack on the USS Cole in Yemen was not an attack on the United States of America.

I will not forget the Clinton administration equipped Islamic terrorists and their supporters with the world's most sophisticated telecommunications equipment and encryption technology, thereby compromising America's ability to trace terrorist radio, cell phone, land lines, faxes and modem communications.

I will not be appeased with pointless, quick retaliatory strikes like those perfected by the previous administration.

I will not be comforted by "feel-good, do nothing" regulations like the silly "Have your bags been under your control?" question at the airport.

I will not be influenced by so called, "antiwar demonstrators" who exploit the right of expression to chant anti-American obscenities.

I will not forget the moral victory handed the North Vietnamese by American war protesters who reviled and spat upon the returning soldiers, airmen, sailors and Marines.

I will not be softened by the wishful thinking of pacifists who chose reassurance over reality.

I will embrace the wise words of Prime Minister Tony Blair who told Labor Party conference, "They have no moral inhibition on the slaughter of the innocent. If they could have murdered not 7,000 but 70,000, does anyone doubt they would have done so and rejoiced in it?

There is no compromise possible with such people, no meeting of minds, no point of understanding with such terror. Just a choice: defeat it or be defeated by it. And defeat it we must!"

I will force myself to: - hear the weeping - feel the helplessness - imagine the terror - sense the panic - smell the burning flesh - experience the loss - remember the hatred.

I sat in a movie theater, watching "Private Ryan" and asked myself, "Where did they find the courage?"

Now I know.

We have no choice. Living without liberty is not living.

Ed Evans, MGySgt., USMC (Ret.) Not as lean, Not as mean, But still a Marine.

[Cindy]

SEPTEMBER 11, 2001: ATTACK ON AMERICA! (click here)

[Mr. Bob]

I do not intend to celebrate 9-11 as long as Mecca is left standing. It should have been turned into melting glass on 9-12-01 with no questions asked.

[Cindy]

Mr. Bob, you said in part on post #3: "I do not intend to celebrate 9-11."

Mr. Bob, I would never "celebrate" 911. Only our enemies celebrated the attacks on America.

[WFTR]

I agree completely. The attacks succeeded because we as a people have been conditioned to passivity and pacifism. We respond to evil by dialing 911 and waiting passively for "proper authorities" to exercise force and handle the situation. That conditioned response is why the attacks succeeded. Passivity is the wrong way to respond to our enemies from outside the country. It is the wrong way to respond to the thugs within our country. I don't know whether I would have done any better than the people on those airliners did. I have been conditioned the same way that they have. However, recognizing our society's error, we must go about correcting it. As a nation, we must hit our enemies as hard as we can until they are destroyed or surrender. As individuals, we must determine never to cooperate with a terrorist but to be determined to harm them physically if they ever threaten us.

A Year Later
Bill

[Nateman]

I agree with the rest but take exception to this:

I will not forget the Clinton administration equipped Islamic terrorists and their supporters with the world's most sophisticated telecommunications equipment and encryption technology, thereby compromising America's ability to trace terrorist radio, cell phone, land lines, faxes and modem communications.

Encryption for the common man scares the hell out of would be dictators the world over. It allows the common man access to something tyrants fear : Unrestricted access to the truth. In point of fact the Clinton syndicate did its utmost to restrict encryption even going to the point of making the trade of  encryption programs the same thing as trading munitions! With governments never ending quest to seize all wealth encryption promises to make capital so fleeting that it cannot grab so much any longer and that's what scares the collectivist vampires the most!

[sarasmom]

BTTT

[rs79bm]

[dhfnc]

That was wonderful - It brought tears to my eyes. You expressed everything that I have been feeling since 9-11, a year ago.

THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS

I was not aware that Clinton "equipped Islamic terrorists and their supporters with the world's most sophisticated telecommunications equipment and encryption technology". I'm not surprised, just did not realize this.

[Cindy]

re post#6 --- A Few Links of Interest About Clinton:

NewsMax.com: "Clinton Audio Exclusive: Pre-September 11 Bin Laden Strike Wouldn't Have Worked" (August 7, 2002)

stepping back in time....RPC.SENATE.GOV: "Clinton-Approved Iranian Arms Transfers Help Turn Bosnia Into Militant Islamic Base" (011697)

[stlnative]

I ran across this tonight

I'LL MEET YOU IN THE STAIRWELL

You say you will never forget where you were when you heard the news on September 11, 2001. Neither will I.

I was on the 110th floor in a smoke filled room with a man who called his wife
to say "Good-bye." I held his fingers steady as he dialed. I gave him the peace to say, "Honey, I am not going to make it, but it is OK ... I am ready to go."

I was with his wife when he called as she fed breakfast to their children. I held her up as she tried to understand his words and as she realized he wasn't coming home that night.

I was in the stairwell of the 23rd floor when a woman cried out to Me for help. "I have been knocking on the door of your heart for 50 years!" I said. "Of course I will show you the way home -- only believe on Me now."

I was at the base of the building with the Priest ministering to the injured and devastated souls. I took him home to tend to his Flock in Heaven. He heard My voice and answered.

I was with the Firefighters, the Police Officers, the Emergency Workers.
I was there, watching each brave step they took. I was on all four of those planes, in every seat, with every prayer.

I was with the crew as they were overtaken.
I was in the very hearts of the believers there, comforting and assuring them that their faith has saved them.

I was in Texas, Kansas, London. I was standing next to you when you heard the terrible news. Did you sense Me?

I want you to know that I saw every face.
I knew every name -- though not all know Me.
Some met Me for the first time on the 86th floor. Some sought Me with their last breath. Some couldn't hear Me calling to them through the smoke and flames;
"Come to Me...this way...take My hand."
Some chose, for the final time, to ignore Me. But, I was there.

I did not place you in the Tower that day.
You may not know why, but I do. However, if you were there in that explosive moment in time, would you have reached for Me?

September 11, 2001, was not the end of the journey for you. But someday your journey will end. And I will be there for you as well. Seek Me now while I may be found.
Then, at any moment, you know you are "ready to go." I will be in the stairwell of your final moments.

[Salvation]

"First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out --
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the communists
and I did not speak out --
because I was not a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out --
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me --
and there was no one left to speak out for me."
~~Pastor Martin Niemoller
(victim of the Nazis)

Is there anything we can learn from this?
When they came for the Catholics?
When they came for the Baptists?
When they came for the fundamentalists?
When they came for the agnostics?

Just something for all of us to think about -- is this picture larger than we currently see it?