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Posted on 10/07/2001 3:53:21 PM PDT by TLBSHOW

America strikes back, Rush Reacts

My friends, by Monday, we should have a lot more knowledge of just what kind of damage we have wrought, if any, and we will be able to discuss it in much greater detail then, with a little bit more knowledge than we have now. After all, we are still in the midst of this first round of attacks, and even when this day is over, what we are told about what we have accomplished may be very little.

It's going to be, I do think, a different kind of war, especially in this respect: I think the American people are going to be treated in a different way in terms of what we are spoon fed or told about these operations, success-wise and failure-wise. Because one thing is for sure: this will not be quick. This is not something that is going to take little time. This is a major operation. We have clearly staked out now, as a golden objective, the elimination of terrorism - and that is not a mission that can be achieved overnight. So those of you who are looking for that eager moment when you can return to whatever your normality is, understand this: that in this country you still have - for the most part, compared to the rest of the people in the world - that chance.

The American people still have as their number one opportunity (if they seek to exercise it) to get up every day and pursue happiness. You are going to be hearing me saying this often, because I think it's important to keep this in perspective, given the rest of the world and how it lives versus the United States.

Now this can mean so many things. When I say, "pursue happiness," I don't mean hedonism. You can pursue whatever gives your life meaning. You and I are not faced, each and every day, with what most of the world's population is faced with - and that is finding enough food to get through the day. We are not faced with the prospect of staying alive that day or keeping our families alive. We don't get up with our first objective to survive. We don't get up with our first objective to make sure we are not doing something, or going somewhere, where we will be discovered by some government agent. Not unless, of course, we are breaking the law.

Despite all that's happened, we still have the opportunity to get up each day and go about our lives in ways we choose. I think it's important to never take that for granted or forget it. As you look at these pictures from Afghanistan and Kabul - both today and before the bombings started - just look at the way these people in Afghanistan live. They ride donkeys around, folks! They live in caves. Yet at the same time, these people defeated the Soviet Red Army - with our help, and our stinger missiles and so forth.

So they are tough people, and they have to be. But they have a different objective in life. Their purpose, and not just religious, but their whole mindset is different than ours. We have, since September 11th, desired this return to normalcy, but we really haven't lost normalcy. Yes, it's a different America now. We hear about Anthrax. We hear about Dengue Fever in Maui. We hear about crop dusters. We have to be vigilant because we know that we are now susceptible to attack. But if you get in your car and travel around today, this country looks just like it did on September 10th - unless you go to downtown Manhattan. It looks just like it always has, and people are going to be doing everything they have always done.

As we speak - while all the networks are broadcasting every detail - I can grab my remote control and I can find a football game. In fact, I can find two of the worst games. I have the Giants and Redskins here. Who gives a flying care? But that's what you get and we are still free to watch it. They are playing.

We have the Miami Dolphins and the New England Patriots. Who cares? There are much better games, but at least we have football games. Two networks are not even covering the news. Instead they are honoring the contract with the NFL. That's pretty normal when you consider we are at war.

So we are very fortunate people, folks - and that is the point. We have so much to fight for and to hold onto to keep our country this way, and that requires an understanding of just how fortunate we are, and what it is that sets us apart from the rest of the world. I have always believed that what makes us special is the freedom that our Founding Fathers knew that we were created with this natural spirit, this yearning to be free. They embodied it in our Constitution, and they limited what the government could do to infringe upon our freedoms.

p>They didn't write a Constitution that empowered government. They wrote one that empowered us. And it requires us to hold onto that power - that was documented - and to live that human spirit, to exercise the God-given aspects of our creation, because that's what makes this country stand out after barely 200 years. We have run circles around countries that have been around thousands and thousands of years - and it's worth knowing why and remembering why, so that we can continue to do so for centuries to come.

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